The Eighth Day of September Poem Analysis

1.    Theme: what themes do you notice in the poem? Explain how the themes contribute to your understanding of the poem

I notice that there are a variety of themes in the poem The Eighth of September by Pablo Neruda. The themes present in the poem are love and hope. These themes contribute to my understanding of the poem because with the theme of love and hope, the poem is trying to portray the message that with love, you can overcome any obstacle that life throws at you as long as you are optimistic. The themes are further portrayed through a variety of symbols and metaphors. For example, the line, “This day, the storm-driven ocean lifted us up in a kiss” indicates that the “storm driven ocean” which is his obstacle, was conquered through a kiss from his love.

2. Do you agree or disagree with the poem? Explain your thinking.

I do not agree with the poem simply because I believe that with love, you cannot overcome any obstacle in life. I believe that love is very powerful and that as long as the two people in love do not see each other as the reason for their hardships, but as a source of hope, they can prosper. Sometimes in life, the one that you love can lead to pain, become a distraction, and ultimately hold your back in overcoming an obstacle or challenge. 

3.    Jot down and respond to a favourite line or favourite image. What specifically do you like about the poem? Be specific, pay attention to beautiful words, phrases and language.

My favourite line from the poem is “This say our body grew stretched out to Earth’s limit.” This line is a significant line because it showcases how we have the potential to reach our dreams and goals as the sky is the limit for us. It also signifies how with someone that we love in our lives, we are able to reach that limit because they support us and give us motivation to succeed in life. Another favourite line is “This day was all the Earth”. This line is significant because the Earth is where we live on and it has so much to offer to us. No one on the planet can experience or witness the whole Earth on their own which is why they need someone to embrace the beauty of the Earth with them. As a result the author writes to line to demonstrate that the one day was all that and more to he and his wife because of their love for the person they were with. 

4.    What is this poem saying? What ideas is the poem conveying?

The poem is trying to portray the author’s love for a significant other who could be his wife. He showcases that through all the hardships that he and his wife faced throughout their lives, their love for one another was always strong. Hence, the last lines of the poem which are “A strange door opened, with no face as yet, waited for us there”, implies that through their love for each other, they were able to produce a child. The child who was not born yet and was waiting to be cherished with love from the author and his wife. Although the main message of the poem is that with love any obstacle or challenge in life can be conquered, there is a deeper meaning to why the author wrote the poem. I believe that the author wrote this poem to reveal to readers that whatever happens in life, there will always be someone who is ready to be by your side no matter the problems that you will bring to them and that you just have to search for them. 

5. Personal connections: is there any way in which you relate to anything in the poem?

  I personally cannot relate to this poem because I have never used love to overcome any obstacles or challenges in my life. I just used hope and determination to overcome the hardships that I was faced with.  However, I can make a text-to-media connection with the movie Romeo and Juliet. In the movie, Romeo and Juliet’s love is so strong for each other, that they use it to overcome the many

challenges that they face. For example, Romeo murders Juliet’s cousin Tybalt out of anger, but Juliet still loves Romeo in the end because she understood that Romeo did what he did in order to avenge his best friend Mercutio who was wrongfully murdered by Tybalt. Although, both Romeo and Juliet die together, their great love for each other brings together both their tension filled families to mourn the deaths of both. Therefore love was the driving force in bringing Romeo and Juliet together and sadly it was also the driving force for their deaths as well.