Browsing by Subject "Neruda, Pablo, 1904-1973 -- Criticism and interpretation"

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    El niño poeta; La domesticación en la literatura infantil sobre Pablo Neruda
    (2012) Swomley, Olivia; Castillo Sandoval, Roberto
    In the past ten years, there has been an explosion of children’s literature surrounding Neruda’s life and poetry. My thesis explores how these interpretations of Pablo Neruda edit, omit, or add to the image of Neruda presented in his poetry and memories. Neruda’s politics and sexuality were unsavory to American audiences, especially during his own life, and consequently many of these more adult elements of his poetry were taken out of the first translations of his work. How do children’s authors deal with these more difficult aspects of Neruda’s life and poetry? Beginning with an extensive analysis of the dominant themes in Neruda’s own childhood that he presents in his memoirs and his poetry, I argue that for Neruda childhood is a fresh and curious perspective that he carries with him for the duration of his life. The concept of childhood is deeply tied to Neruda’s political life, his sexuality, the theme of death, and his love of nature. Although each interpretation appropriates and domesticates these source texts in a different way, none of them is entirely faithful to the image of Neruda present within the source texts. Many interpretations, such as El niño de la lluvia and To Go Singing Through the World, domesticate the presence of Neruda’s abusive father. Others, such as The Dreamer, domesticate sexuality. The concept of death, tied so firmly to life and childhood in Neruda’s poetry, is almost entirely absent. While each interpretation does an excellent job of depicting the inspiration of the natural world and the power of poetry, many of the darker and more introspective aspects of Neruda’s own poetry and life are diminished.
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    Translating Neruda: Femininity and Sensuality Domesticated
    (2011) Mueller, Natalie
    The poetry of Pablo Neruda has now been extensively translated into English, with published versions by thirty-nine different translators. Some of these translations were made near the start of Neruda’s own career, with the earliest published in 1944, and a plenitude of translators continue to be inspired to translate his work to this day. For many readers, these translations shape their approach to Neruda’s work. As John Felstiner observes, “What has been translated, when, by whom, how well, and which versions are easily obtainable--all these questions intimately qualify the word “Neruda” in English-speaking countries.” Apart from a bilingual minority, most residents in these countries will never encounter Neruda outside the scope of translation; for them, the translations, with their inevitable if subtle changes, become Neruda. It is those changes and the Neruda created by English translation that I will be examining in this thesis, offering close readings first of five original poems in Spanish, and then of their translations by an assortment of translators.