Borges And Myself Poem Analysis

Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, “Borges and Myself,” and Julia de Burgos’ poem, “To Julia de Burgos,” are two self reflective pieces about their respective authors. They both focus on a detachment between the author’s persona and self image. Not only do these literary works share similar themes, but they use many of the same poetic elements. These elements - tone, metaphors, and allusions - are a means to accurately communicate the internal struggle they share. Both pieces use tone. In “Borges and Myself,” the tone is consistent throughout. It is a tone of despair; a sort of despise for his persona accompanied with an acknowledgement of his dependence to it. Borges’ use of tone shows why he felt the subject was worth writing about despite his apparent distaste for much of his own work. The tone of “To Julia de Burgos” is passionate, ending with a strong sense of righteousness. Her tone indicates her feelings toward her persona.
Burgos describes her true self as “the virile starburst of the human truth,” and in a later stanza she writes, “I am life, strength, woman,” She uses both of these metaphors to depict her inner self as a strong, independent woman with thoughts and ideas beyond her ability to adequately express. Borges uses a metaphor when he says --- Actually, after further research I found that what I thought was a metaphor for death, namely “games with time and infinity,” is actually a second allusion. I am unable to identify any metaphors or symbols in “Borges and Myself.” Whether this is true or simply do to my own limitation I cannot know. Moving