I Like For You To Be Still by Pablo Neruda
I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,
and you hear me from far away and my voice does not touch you.
It seems as though your eyes had flown away
and it seems that a kiss had sealed your mouth.
As all things are filled with my soul
you emerge from the things, filled with my soul.
You are like my soul, a butterfly of dream,
and you are like the word Melancholy.
I like for you to be still, and you seem far away.
It sounds as though you were lamenting, a butterfly cooing like a dove.
And you hear me from far away, and my voice does not reach you:
Let me come to be still in your silence.
And let me talk to you with your silence
that is bright as a lamp, simple as a ring.
You are like the night, with its stillness and constellations.
Your silence is that of a star, as remote and candid.
I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,
distant and full of sorrow as though you had died.
One word then, one smile, is enough.
And I am happy, happy that it's not true.
Paraphrase of the Poem
Persona feels that someone who persona loves never showed his/her love feeling to persona with words or verbal communication. That thing makes persona difficult to know and understand about him/her, which are his/her feeling or condition. Persona also feels that there is a far distance between persona and the person who persona loves, although this person is near from persona. But although all that things have happened, persona never changed persona’s feeling to him/her. Persona still keep that feeling in persona’s heart; love him/her from the bottom of persona’s heart and considering him/her as persona’s soul mate. Sometimes persona feels afraid because sometimes persona thinks that silent means that the person who persona loves feel sad/unhappy. Then persona tries to understand about that with read the situation, not with asking him/her. Because persona knows that he/her will not answer or tell to persona about what exactly he/she feels. Persona also tries to communicate with him/her not with talking to him/her, but persona tries to communicate with action that persona do to show persona’s care. Sometimes persona feels that persona still couldn’t reach and hold the heart of the person who persona loves yet. Persona also thinks that the person who persona loves is a mystery; difficult to guess. But once again, persona will always love that person. Persona also doesn’t want to lose him/her because that thing can make persona feels so lonely and sad. And persona always feels relieved when that thing is not happened.
Denotation & Connotation Analysis
First main keyword is “absent” (first stanza, line one). The denotation is not present in a place or something. The connotation is gone. The supporting keywords are “far way” (first stanza, line two) and “does not touch you” (first stanza, line two). So I interpreted that persona has lost or the person who persona loves is gone or far away from persona because of he/she never talk with persona. This situation is make persona feels that he/she cannot touch him/her.
Second main keyword is “emerge” (second stanza, line two). The denotation is come out. The connotation is come. The supporting keywords are “filled” (second stanza, line two) and “soul” (second stanza, line three). So I interpreted that persona always keep his/her love feeling to the person who persona loves which has come to him/her and already filled persona’s heart or soul.
Third main keyword is “still” (third stanza, line one). The denotation is not moving; calm and quiet. The connotation is silent. The supporting keywords are “lamenting” (third stanza, line two) and “cooing like a dove” (third stanza, line two). So I interpreted that persona worries about the silent of the person who persona loves which can mean that he/she is lamenting or regretting something.
Fourth main keyword is “silence” (fourth stanza, line one). The denotation is complete lack of noise or sound. The connotation is soundlessness. The supporting keywords are “remote” (fourth stanza, line four), and “candid” (fourth stanza, line four). So I interpreted that persona think if the soundlessness of the person who persona loves is like he/she remote or so far away from persona and his/her heart is candid or free, so persona cannot embrace his/her heart or feeling and make it to be persona’s.
Fifth main keyword is “died” (fifth stanza, line two). The denotation is stopped living. The connotation is disappeared. The supporting keywords are “distant” (fifth stanza, line two) and “full of sorrow” (fifth stanza, line two). So I interpreted that persona didn’t want if the person who persona love disappeared from persona’s life. Because that thing can makes persona’s life lonely and sad.
Imagery Analysis
This poetry contain of three messages. First message is we can show our love without saying that we love to our beloved person. Second message is with the silence we can learn to more understand about our beloved person. Third message is don’t be afraid if we would loss our beloved person who always keep silent because that means if he/she tried to understand our self in different way.
This poetry also contain of three imageries. There are visual imagery, auditory imagery, and kinesthetic imagery. First is visual imagery. This visual imagery supports the third message because there is word “died” (fifth stanza, line two). This word shows that persona see that the person who persona loves always keep silent, and persona afraid if the silent means that the person who persona is not love persona anymore. So, persona maybe would loss him/her.
Second is auditory imagery. This auditory imagery supports the first and the second message because there are words “still” (first stanza, line one) and “lamenting” (third stanza, line two). These words show that persona hear nothing from the person who persona love. In addition, persona realizes that love never always says by word. It can also shows by action. Then persona tried to communicate with the person who persona loves in silent or with action. With silent, persona feels that he/she more understand about the person who he/she loves.
Third is kinesthetic imagery. This kinesthetic imagery supports the third message because there are words “touch” (first stanza, line two), “reach” (third stanza, line three), and “come” (third stanza, line four). These words show that persona cannot touch or reach the person who persona loves if that person always kept in silence. But persona always loves him/her and persona wants could always together with him/her.
Tone Analysis
When I read this poetry for the first time, I feel that this poetry is a solemn poetry. This poetry is a solemn poetry because there are word “lamenting” (third stanza, line two) and “died” (fifth stanza, line two). These two words refer to the feeling of the persona which are worry and afraid. But these two words represent sadness feeling and disappearing of the person who persona loves. Persona feels worry and afraid about the person that he/she loves because persona thinks that person maybe feels sad or will disappear from persona’s life. But persona couldn’t know about that because that person always keep silent, didn’t tell anything about what he/she feels to persona. So it’s quiet difficult for persona to understand about him/her.
Conclusion
According to me, the theme of this poetry is silent love. In general, I think the idea of this poetry that there is something very curious in knowing that you can be next to a person you love but you don't need to talk because he/she doesn’t want to talk. In this situation, there are a lot of things to do. Not only that you must understand about what he/she want and feeling, but you must also show your feeling or love and affection to him/her. You must become smart to read his/her body language and every signal that he/she made to understand about him/her and get close with him/her. You can start with do such a thing that he/she likes or both of you like, together with him/her. In this poetry, you have invited to choose between to think that silent would make you feel challenging in built a relationship in different way or to think that silent would make you feel uneasy and you would feel that saying something it is necessary in built a relationship just like the ordinary.
(Wednesday, November 20th, 2009)
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