Machu Picchu

Paper Summary:

In this essay, the writer notes that Pablo Neruda's famous work, 'The Heights of Macchu Picchu' is a large poem, divided into twelve sections. The writer discusses that the text depicts a symbolic vertical journey to "the heights of Machu Picchu", a world of rarefied air and steps of stone which sends the traveler back to the origins of human civilization. The writer points out that the poem recounts the poet's own traveling experience to the ancient and mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu. Overall, the writer maintains that the text is an attempt to speak the true language of South America and deliver its message to the world.

From the Paper:

"Significantly, the poem is made up of a series of surrealistic images which describe a symbolic cycle of death and resurrection. One of the recurrent images throughout the poem is that of the cutting air which can be inhaled at the dizzying heights of the Machu Picchu summit. Interestingly, although the air is actually invisible, it is nevertheless among the most telling images of the poem. Neruda manages thus to bring to light the powerful image of Machu Picchu's stone body precisely by depicting the mountain as a sacred dome made up of rocks and air. In the poem, the mountain air acquires thus a symbolic power. Instead of a feeling of emptiness, the air actually provides the reader with a strong impression of the giddy heights. It is through this composite imager of stone and air that the poet manages to convey the sublime sensation of the spiraling steps, as a suspended ladder that takes the traveler to another world. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Neruda, Pablo. Canto General. California: University of California Press, 2000.

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