How Does Pablo Neruda Use Personification And Implied Metaphors In 100 Love

In sonnet XXV of 100 Love Sonnets, Pablo Neruda utilizes personification and implied metaphors to create vivid imagery in his poem.
In this sonnet, Neruda describes a romantic and enchanting afternoon with his lover as they float through elegant gardens under the clear sky. The author effectively translates this imagery by the uses of literary devices such as personification and implied metaphors. For example, in line 2 of the poem Neruda writes, “The light arrived and opened like a rose garden”. The use the words “arrived” and “opened” in respect to the light, give it human qualities in which inanimate objects cannot possess, which is also known as personification. This allows for the reader to obtain a more meticulously detailed picture of

the scene, therefore creating richer imagery. In addition, the author writes, “Sand and sky throbbed like an ultimate beehive carved in the turquoise” (Neruda 3). Neruda’s choice of the word “throbbed” in respect to the sand and sky connote to the audience how the world and the landscape were almost pulsating with life.
In conjunction with personification, Pablo Neruda uses implied metaphor to aid him in expressing imagery in the sonnet. For instance, line 1 states: “Your hand flew from my eyes into the day” (Neruda). The word “flew” in this statement references comparing the subject’s hand with a bird, which can help the reader understand how their movements must have been graceful and gentle, furthering the detailed imagery. Lastly, in the last lines of the poem Neruda writes: “And then your hand fluttered… it closed its wings” (13). Again this compares the subject’s hand to a bird and how protective birds can be over its loved ones.

Neruda’s use of personification and implied metaphor help enhance and give more detailed accounts to the imagery in the poem.