Pablo Neruda's odes: The influence of Pindar, Horace and Marx
Abstract
The goal of this study is to show that the laudatory discourse in Pablo Neruda's Odes, at the time of its genesis, is influenced by two main sources. The first one, relating to the structure of the poems, emanates from the classical laudatory tradition. The study demonstrates the process of mimesis that takes place when Neruda adopts Pindaric and Horatian rhetorical devices to elaborate an original laudatory discourse which praises ordinary objects and the struggle of the marginalized man. The second source of influence is seen in the themes that are developed in the odes. It is a Marxist ideology which proposes a social view against the western order of Capitalism. Due to the fact that the mimesis of the laudatory canon does not facilitate the utilitarian and social orientation of Neruda's poetry, the study analyzes a series of innovations developed by the poet in order to reach the proletarian masses which constitute the target audience of the Nerudian discourse. The theory of intertextuality, which suggests that contemporary works of art are shaped by previous literary traditions, has guided the course of this research project. The study therefore examines biographical data relating to Pindar, Horace and Neruda. This is done to elucidate the epoch and social context where the poems are created as products of mimesis and innovation. Equally, the study shows how the essential precepts of Marxism are manifested in the poetry of Pablo Neruda.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Dixon, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Latin American literature|Latin American history|Language
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