Dulce, Siempre (Sweetness, Always), Pablo

¶ … Dulce, Siempre" ("Sweetness, Always"), Pablo Neruda employs several poetic devices to convey a central theme about simplicity. Neruda weaves evocative imagery, extended metaphors, and alliteration into a poetic tapestry. The titular sensation of sweetness remains the anchor holding together the free verse. Moreover, the structure of the poem and its voice are highly personal. The poet establishes a direct connection with the reader, and therefore embodies the main message of "Sweetness, Always." Therefore, "Sweetness, Always" perfectly parallels the narrator's notion that art should be about the simple expression of emotion and not about the gratification of the ego.

The first stanza of the poem includes several rhetorical questions, with the opening line, "Why such harsh machinery?" (line 1). The rhetorical questions establish a personal tone that remains throughout the poem. Moreover, the speaker summarizes the point-of-view that poems are about "the happenings / and people of every day," (lines 2, 3). Poems should speak directly to the reader just as the narrator does in "Sweetness, Always." Poems that are "dressed up in gold" or in "old and grim stone" are out of reach of most readers (lines 4, 5). Imagery of gold and "grim stone" suggests that the poet who uses language that is too lofty misunderstands the meaning of poetry, which is to inspire and sweeten lives. To be "dressed up in gold" suggests that poets often embellish their ideas with language that is inaccessible to the average reader. Therefore, the first stanza of "Sweetness, Always" establishes the theme of poetry being an egalitarian, universal art form.

The second stanza of "Sweetness, Always" develops the main themes. In the second stanza, Neruda also dives into a realm of evocative imagery that enlivens the poem. The poet also employs alliteration to add lyrical depth. For example, the first few lines of the stanza read, "I prefer verses of felt or feather / which scarcely weigh, soft verses," (lines 6, 7). The narrator uses the first person, thus continuing the personal tone of the poem. "Felt or feather" is an alliterative phrase that complements the tangible imagery of both felt and feathers. Furthermore, the passage also serves as a metaphor because both felt and feathers are light and soft. The imagery contrasts with the "harsh machinery" of the first stanza, as the narrator suggests that poems should feel as good as items that are soft, light, and gentle. The narrator extends the softness metaphor to a mundane object used each and every day: a bed. A bed is not only a place of slumber but also a place of love-making: the "intimacy of beds / where people have loved and dreamed," (line 8). Finally, the second stanza concludes with the narrator's strong stance on the purpose of poetry: "I prefer poems stained / by hands and everydayness," (lines 10, 11). The word "stained" directly refers to the bed imagery, as love-making leaves stains in a bed. Neruda deliberately uses dirty diction to underscore the message about making poems more mundane and accessible to the everyday reader.

The third stanza begins the central extended metaphor of sweetness. As a flavor, sweetness is something that all human beings can relate to. Sweetness is also a metaphor, used commonly in the language of love. The poet blends the two concepts of sweetness and love throughout the third stanza. The metaphor of sweetness is also used to suggest that poems should be as direct, simple, and unassuming as pastry "that melt / into milk and sugar in the mouth," (line 12). To suggest that poems should be sweet does not infer that poems should be saccharine or dishonest. Sweetness refers to the universal and direct flavor of a poem, not to a mandatory tone. The narrator reminds the reader that verses should speak both "the bites and kisses of love," (line 15). The extended metaphor of sweetness also symbolizes the nourishing aspect of poetry, as the narrator longs for "eatable sonnets," (line 16).

In the fourth stanza, the narrator reminds the reader of the corruption of poetry. The fourth stanza therefore alludes to the first. "Vanity," notes the narrator, leads to "deep and useless" endeavors (lines 18; 20). In attempting vainglorious works of art, a poet forgets "the joyous / love-needs of our bodies," (lines 22, 23). The body's love-needs refers to all the visceral desires felt by the everyday person. Furthermore, the poet who relies on the "harsh machinery" mentioned in the first stanza is also "not feeding the world," (line 25). Here, the narrator reiterates the essential nourishing feature of genuine poetry. Poetry should feed pastries to the soul, suggests the narrator.

The fifth stanza transports the reader to Madras, where the narrator claims to have seen a "sugary pyramid, / a tower of confectionary," (lines 27, 28). The symbolic tower displays "one level after another" of "blushing delights," (lines 29; 31). The narrator purposely does not mention exactly what the Indian masterpiece was because its sweetness alone was meaningful. A poem is valuable not in terms of its embellishments, as suggested in stanza one. A poem is valuable because of the impact it leaves on the reader. Moreover, the reference to India also stresses the universality of poetry. Sweet poetry is accessible to all, regardless of geography, time, or culture.

The narrator continues the sentiments about universality in the seventh stanza of the poem. Between the fifth and seventh stanzas is the first of three irregularly short verses. The sixth stanza comprises just two pithy lines: "Someone soiled his hands / to cook up so much sweetness," (lines 33, 34). Although brief, the sixth stanza encapsulates the central theme of the poem. The phrase "soiled his hands" refers back to the imagery of a stained bed. By exploring the mundane, a poet can elevate the senses. Poetry must appeal to the everydayness of life. The phrase "to cook up so much sweetness" refers to the spiritually nourishing and universally sweet quality of genuine poetry.