Reflective statement on Pablo Neruda

Reflective Statement:
Question: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral.
The interactive oral discussion that took place in class today on the infamous Chilean writer, Pablo Neruda, significantly increased my background information of the poet and has shed light on aspects of his life that I was not aware of.
During the discussion a fellow classmate discussed Neruda’s childhood and it was made evident that his childhood was not easy; the lack of a mother played a crucial role in his growing up and perhaps explains why Neruda so willingly surrounded himself by women throughout the rest of his life. Although his father, who was adamant that he became a French teacher, did not encourage his poetry, Neruda did have a guiding figure in Gabriella Mistra who supported his poetry greatly and inspired his work.
A very governing element in Neruda’s writing are his political views and it was made obvious to me by a fellow classmate that the political situation at the time of Neruda’s life had a great influence on his political views. Neruda’s communist views grew strong when a friend of his was killed by a supporter of Franco, not only did this fuel Neruda’s communist approach it also inspired a hatred for Franco that can be seen in many of Neruda’s poems. Through his communist views Neruda also became a great fan of the leader of the Soviet union in the early nineteen hundreds; Joseph Stalin. Neruda viewed Stalin as a great man and this is made evident from the impact that Stalin had on Neruda’s writing, Neruda even dedicated two of his poems to the man: “Canto a Stalingrado” and “Nuevo canto de amor a Stalingrado”
From my own research on the wives and the affairs that Neruda had it is obvious why his passion for romantic poetry runs deeply throughout much of his poetic work. It was through his first wife Delia del Carrill that he became involved in a highly intellectual circle of aspiring artists that encouraged him to be more open about his communist views. Many intimate moments depicted in Neruda’s poetry come from the experiences that he shared with his final wife Matilde Urrutia in their house in Santiago that was known as their love den.
Overall I found the class discussion to be of great use, I managed to extend my knowledge of Pablo Neruda and managed to learn new things that give much of his poetry a more profound meaning. Word Count: 400