Poetic Perfection in Juan Ramón Jiménez: Analysis of Two Poems
Juan Ramón Jiménez – The Name of the Name
Subject
The subject is a topic of Juan Ramón Jiménez: the pursuit of poetic perfection. In the poem, Jiménez claims to have found that perfection.
Metrics
Free verse poem that is dominated by lines of high art.
Questions
1. Indicates what type of literary device we can see in the phrase “God created and recreated and recreated by grace and effortless”
We can see the appeal of the polysyndeton, i.e., the repetition of conjunctions to give force to the expression of concepts.
2. Discuss the meaning of renown:
Quality of illustrious eminence, glory, fame, attention, good name.
3. The theme of the text is a topic of Juan Ramón Jiménez. Indicate what this topic is:
The topic is the poetic pursuit of perfection. In this case, that perfection is found in God, who makes his poetry be perfect.
4. Locate in the text an example of metaphor and a reduplication:
The text displays several metaphors, as in the case of “sea paralyzed,” “the flame stops at red ember.” We also note the repetition of words in the use of reduplication, as in the case of “and live up, all up.”
5. From the phrase “Air blue fire,” explain what a synesthesia is. Add another example that is not in the text:
Synesthesia is a literary device in which two images or feelings that come from different sensory organs are attached. In “Air blue fire,” air and heat capture inflamed the touch. In contrast, the blue color is perceived with the sense of sight. Another example of synesthesia is “sweet aroma.” The sweet taste is perceived; however, the aroma is captured with the smell.
6. Morphosyntactic analyzer the phrase: “Now I am my own sea paralyzed”:
- Now: Adverb of Time | Circumstantial Complement of time, adverbial phrase.
- I: Personal pronoun | Subject, noun phrase.
- Am: Copular verb ‘to be’, 1st person singular, present indicative | Copulative verb, verb phrase.
- Already: Adverb of Time | Circumstantial Complement of time, adverbial phrase.
- My: Possessive determiner | (my paralyzed sea): attribute.
- Sea: Noun.
- Paralyzed: Adjective | Complement of the noun “sea”, noun phrase.
“Now I am my own sea paralyzed”: Simple, affirmative, declarative, copulative sentence.
Juan Ramón Jiménez – White Poplar
Theme
The poem shows his love for nature (birds, flowers, water…). Nature is part of the author; it is attached to the soul of a poet. He is calm; birds and water are elements of tranquility, inner peace, peace of his soul. The poem perfectly reflects Jiménez’s poetic conception, for it is beauty, and poetry. In this poem, he shows us the beauty of nature.
Questions
1. Explain briefly the contents of the poem:
The author tries to show his love for nature. He represents the ideal material and, with the help of the elements of nature such as birds, flowers, and water… The poplar symbolizes the soul of the poet who wants to unite nature, the world above and below, i.e., the material and ideal. Two worlds joined together through the poplar (his soul).
2. Discuss the meaning of the word “shock”:
Mood disturbance.
3. Locate in the poem an example of metaphor and a hyperbole:
Metaphor: “white poplar” and “column of silver.”
Hyperbole: “opens the soul to me.”
4. Say the subject of each of the verbs:
- “Above the bird sings”: the bird.
- “And sings down the water”: water.
- “I open the soul”: the author.
5. The grammatical category of words: Bird, silver, ideal, shakes:
Noun, noun, adjective, and verb.