You can say anything you want, yessir, but it's the words that sing, they soar and descend...I bow to them...I love them, I cling to them, I run them down, I bite into them, I melt them down...I love words so much...The unexpected ones...The ones I wait for greedily or stalk until, suddenly, they drop.
Interpretation
This quote expresses a deep passion and reverence for the beauty and power of words.
In this quote, Pablo Neruda conveys his profound admiration for the magic of language. He describes words as living entities that evoke emotions, inspire creativity, and connect people. The act of chasing after words symbolizes the relentless quest for expression and meaning, showcasing how they can resonate with the soul and elicit powerful feelings. His enthusiasm for the unexpected and unique words underlines the joy of discovery in language, emphasizing its significance in the human experience.
In practice
In a speech about the impact of literature on society, one might say, 'As Pablo Neruda said, words soar and descend; they hold the power to inspire change.'
Perhaps this war will pass like the others which divided us leaving us dead, killing us along with the killers but the shame of this time puts its burning fingers to our faces. Who will erase the ruthlessness hidden in innocent blood?
I want to see the thirst inside the syllables I want to touch the fire in the sound: I want to feel the darkness of the cry. I want words as rough as virgin rocks.” - Verb.
Only do not forget, if I wake up crying it's only because in my dream I'm a lost child hunting through the leaves of the night for your hands.
And here am I, budding among the ruins with only sorrow to bite on, as if weeping were a seed and I the earth's only furrow.
Once more I am the silent one who came out of the distance wrapped in cold rain and bells: I owe to earth's pure death the will to sprout.
I learned about life from life itself, love I learned in a single kiss and could teach no one anything except that I have lived with something in common among men.
Architecture is one of the art forms best able to improve and revitalise cities both artistically and functionally.
That kill the bloom before its time, And blanch, without the owner's crime, The most resplendent hair.
When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is defined by them. You have to admit that.
Poetry is that / which arrives at the intellect / by way of the heart.
An artist's concern is to capture beauty wherever he finds it.
Because subjects like literature and art history have no obvious material pay-off, they tend to attract those who look askance at capitalist notions of utility. The idea of doing something purely for the delight of it has always rattled the grey-bearded guardians of the state. Sheer pointlessness has always been a deeply subversive affair.
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