Analysis of a Sonnet: Themes of Pain and Love
MEASURE: The poem is a sonnet, adhering to the genre’s characteristics: 14 verses grouped into two quartets and two triplets, all in hendecasyllables. The last verse of each triplet repeats a rhyme that also appears in the first and last lines of the two quartets. Thus, the last verse of each of the four stanzas shares the same rhyme, a variation from the classic metric scheme. The rhyme scheme is 11A.
Analysis of the Form
The poem begins with dark tones, creating a somber environment devoid of joy. The unusual use of words enhances its aesthetic. The noun “grief” in the first line sets a tone of pain from the outset. “That blackens when it explodes off” in the second verse, the poet explains the metaphoric association between pain and the bursting of darkness. The verb indicates a pattern of vehement expressiveness. “Where I find myself, no man is more sorry than no…” here, the poet uses hyperbole to emphasize his pain. The musicality of the first verse is highlighted by two sinalefas: “where I do not se_halla me_hallo.” The ordering of two syntactic aspects is also notable. Rhetorically, this is a presentation based on two forms of the verb ‘find’ and two verses, forming a periphrasis that could be classified as understatement, saying something (that he is the most unfortunate man) by denying its opposite (that he is not the saddest man). These verses show a formal audacity, echoing the classics. The following verse focuses on the poet’s execution. A striking comparison is made: the poet’s death is likened to a loyal dog. This indicates that the poet’s pain stems from a desire whose fulfillment would bring joy. The frustration of this desire leads to the death of the poet who speaks throughout the sonnet. It is intuitive that the underlying reason for the suffering is love. The theme of Miguel Hernández’s book, to which this poem belongs, supports this conclusion.
Another key reference in this quartet is the first verse: “and you sleep alone.” Loneliness is the true source of pain, and the phrase “Sleep Alone” connects this solitude to the failure of love. The poetic metaphor of the crown of thorns reminds us of Christ’s crown. The poet is presented as a reference, perhaps not very appropriate from a poetic point of view. It is as if the poet carries the cross of his love, which aligns with the tragic fate of love often found in Miguel Hernández’s early poetry.
Both “thorns” and “leopards” are common metaphors for tears of pain. This leads to the final trio: “…the penalty shall not myself surrounded by thistles penalties and punish to die The one!” The confession of an inability to bear the pain continues the allusion to a Via Crucis of love, destruction, and death. The first verse presents a fatalistic view of existence, conditioned by pain. The sorrow and the “thistle” will ultimately destroy his resistance. The last verse is a conclusion, a cry with a tone of regret or protest. The penalty is loving, but the final exclamation, taken from colloquial language, gives a broader dimension to the pain, as if suffering from love is only part of a larger existential suffering that love cannot quell. This is, approximately, the theme of the poem.