Ruben Dario
Question 1
To Roosevelt and Song of Autumn in the spring time are two of Ruben Dario’s works of art. He was and still is a renowned poet worldwide who used many literary devices in his poems. He derived inspiration from his surrounding and what was happening at the time. For instance, To Roosevelt was written when President Roosevelt built the Panama Canal and instilled fear and hatred in the people of Panama. His literary works include nature and art symbols that project different meanings in different poems.
In To Roosevelt, Ruben Dario likens President Roosevelt’s attitude to fire. ‘You think that life is a fire, that progress is an irruption, that the future is wherever your bullet strikes‘ is an indication of the nature symbolism. President Roosevelt was violent to the people of Panama and Ruben’s poem exudes irony towards the situation. ‘The United States is grand and powerful. Whenever it trembles, a profound shudder runs down the enormous backbone of the Andes. If it shout, the sound is like, the roar of a lion‘ also refers to natural symbolism. Andes are the longest mountains in South America hence the fear imposed by the United States on the Latin Americans would be as deep and long as the mountains in Andes.
With regard to art symbolism, ‘A wealthy country, joining the cult of Mammon to the cult of Hercules; while Liberty, lighting the path to easy conquest, raises her torch in New York‘ makes reference to the Statue of Liberty in To Roosevelt. Song of Autumn in the spring time also has an artistic symbol. ‘For with her grace of tenderness, A violence of love she had: In a peplos of loveliness, Was hid a Maenad passion mad‘ refers to the humility and loyalty the Maenad people (who were female followers of the wine god) had in ancient Greece who worshipped and were possessed by their gods. The stanza makes reference to the tender and violent love the woman has for the poet.
Question 2
‘You think that life is a fire, that progress is an irruption, that the future is wherever your bullet strikes‘ is a nature symbol that refers to the violence apportioned on the Latin Americans. The United States and Latin America had a terrible relationship during and after World War 1. The hate resulted in the building of the Panama Canal. Dario viewed the United States as invaders and that stanza oozes of his thoughts on Roosevelt. To Dario, Roosevelt thought that he was above everyone else. He thought that he could determine the future by using violence. ‘The United States is grand and powerful. Whenever it trembles, a profound shudder runs down the enormous backbone of the Andes. If it shout, the sound is like, the roar of a lion‘ had sarcasm attached to it. Dario did not perceive that the United States was above Latin America hence he makes fun of the fact that whenever the United States makes move against Latin America, the effects are felt in the large mountains in the Andes.
The art symbolism refers to any form of art referred to in the poems. ‘A wealthy country, joining the cult of Mammon to the cult of Hercules; while Liberty, lighting the path to easy conquest, raises her torch in New York‘: the poet makes reference to the wealth of the United States resulting from joining the Mammon cult to the Hercules cult. He also states that the wealth makes it easy for the country to conquer other countries while the Statue of Liberty lights their way in New York. ‘For with her grace of tenderness, A violence of love she had: In a peplos of loveliness, Was hid a Maenad passion mad‘ in Song of Autumn in the spring time communicates the innocence of a person on the outside but the possession and loyalty of the female followers of the wine god on the inside; hence the violence of love.
Question 3
Ruben Dario communicates a deeper life meaning with the art and nature symbols in his literary works. With respect to the nature symbols, in To Roosevelt, he is keen on weakening the effect that President Roosevelt thought he had when he went to Panama. Dario thought that Roosevelt wanted people to worship the ground he walked on and he determined the future of everyone he came across. The thought is also present in ‘The United States is grand and powerful. Whenever it trembles, a profound shudder runs down the enormous backbone of the Andes. If it shout, the sound is like, the roar of a lion‘. The poet indicates that there are people in life who may feel that they are in control of everything and everyone. The last stanza in the poem states that Roosevelt thought he had everything, but he lacked God. The poet tells us that in life, people need God to prosper. Dario thought that Roosevelt was a proud man who thought that he was in possession of everything that life has to offer.
Dario also stresses life lessons in art symbolism. ‘A wealthy country, joining the cult of Mammon to the cult of Hercules; while Liberty, lighting the path to easy conquest, raises her torch in New York‘ refers to the fact that the poet thought the United States attained its wealth through joining cults. These cults made the country believe that they could conquer any other state. In life, there are people who attain wealth through questionable ways and they believe that they can walk over those who are less fortunate than themselves. ‘For with her grace of tenderness, A violence of love she had: In a peplos of loveliness, Was hid a Maenad passion mad‘ makes reference to appearances. There are individuals who appear to be innocent on the surface but looks can be deceiving.
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