“Pale blind diver, luckless slinger, lost discoverer, in you everything sank!”
Pablo Neruda's poetic portrayal of despair
"“Pale blind diver, luckless slinger, lost discoverer, in you everything sank!” - Pablo Neruda"
Analysis of Pablo Neruda's Quote
In this quote by Pablo Neruda, the speaker addresses someone as a "pale blind diver, luckless slinger, lost discoverer," suggesting a sense of hopelessness and abandonment. The repetition of these negative descriptors emphasizes the feeling of being overwhelmed and defeated. The phrase "in you everything sank" implies a deep despair and a sense of being engulfed by failure or loss. Overall, this quote conveys a mood of desolation and resignation.
Relevance of Pablo Neruda's Poetry in Modern Times
The line "Pale blind diver, luckless slinger, lost discoverer, in you everything sank!" from Pablo Neruda's poetry reflects the deep sense of longing, despair, and introspection that many people experience in the modern world. In a time where individuals may feel lost or adrift in a sea of uncertainty, Neruda's words resonate as a reminder of the universal human experience of searching for meaning and purpose. Through his evocative language and imagery, Neruda's work continues to inspire introspection and contemplation in a modern context.
Reflection Questions
This quote by Pablo Neruda evokes powerful imagery and emotions. It speaks to the deep sorrow and despair of being lost and abandoned. Reflecting on this quote, consider the following questions:
In what ways do you interpret the different descriptors used in the quote, such as "pale blind diver" and "lost discoverer"? How do these images speak to you personally?
Have you ever felt like a "luckless slinger" or a "lost discoverer" in your own life? How did you navigate through those feelings of desolation or hopelessness?
What do you think Neruda is trying to convey about the human experience through this quote? How does it resonate with your own understanding of life's challenges and triumphs?
How can you apply the themes present in this quote to your own personal growth and resilience? Are there lessons you can take away from Neruda's words to help you navigate difficult times in the future?
Similar quotes
“A song of despairThe memory of you emerges from the night around me.The river mingles its stubborn lament with the sea.Deserted like the dwarves at dawn.It is the hour of departure, oh deserted one!Cold flower heads are raining over my heart.Oh pit of debris, fierce cave of the shipwrecked.In you the wars and the flights accumulated.From you the wings of the song birds rose.You swallowed everything, like distance.Like the sea, like time. In you everything sank!It was the happy hour of assault and the kiss.The hour of the spell that blazed like a lighthouse.Pilot's dread, fury of blind driver,turbulent drunkenness of love, in you everything sank!In the childhood of mist my soul, winged and wounded.Lost discoverer, in you everything sank!You girdled sorrow, you clung to desire,sadness stunned you, in you everything sank!I made the wall of shadow draw back,beyond desire and act, I walked on.Oh flesh, my own flesh, woman whom I loved and lost,I summon you in the moist hour, I raise my song to you.Like a jar you housed infinite tenderness.and the infinite oblivion shattered you like a jar.There was the black solitude of the islands,and there, woman of love, your arms took me in.There was thirst and hunger, and you were the fruit.There were grief and ruins, and you were the miracle.Ah woman, I do not know how you could contain mein the earth of your soul, in the cross of your arms!How terrible and brief my desire was to you!How difficult and drunken, how tensed and avid.Cemetery of kisses, there is still fire in your tombs,still the fruited boughs burn, pecked at by birds.Oh the bitten mouth, oh the kissed limbs,oh the hungering teeth, oh the entwined bodies.Oh the mad coupling of hope and forcein which we merged and despaired.And the tenderness, light as water and as flour.And the word scarcely begun on the lips.This was my destiny and in it was my voyage of my longing,and in it my longing fell, in you everything sank!Oh pit of debris, everything fell into you,what sorrow did you not express, in what sorrow are you not drowned!From billow to billow you still called and sang.Standing like a sailor in the prow of a vessel.You still flowered in songs, you still brike the currents.Oh pit of debris, open and bitter well.Pale blind diver, luckless slinger,lost discoverer, in you everything sank!It is the hour of departure, the hard cold hourwhich the night fastens to all the timetables.The rustling belt of the sea girdles the shore.Cold stars heave up, black birds migrate.Deserted like the wharves at dawn.Only tremulous shadow twists in my hands.Oh farther than everything. Oh farther than everything.It is the hour of departure. Oh abandoned one!”
“We have a nasty habit of flushing down the memory hole "the people who lost." Or demonizing them. Going back in time and painting Snidely Whiplash mustaches on their luckless countenances.”
“To the discovered, the discoverer can be a god.”
“When you finally figure out what you really want, everything else pales in comparison.”
“I remember everything about it—with an effort. I see it all, as divers see what is going on above them, through a medium, dense, rippling, but transparent.”