Analysis of Poems by Antonio Machado

Posted on May 1, 2024 in Language

Lemon Languid

This poem explores themes of memory and nostalgia, likely from the early stages of Machado’s poetic career. The poem is divided into two parts:

Verses 1-5: The author sets the scene with a vivid image of a lemon tree laden with fruit hanging over a fountain.
Verses 6-23: The author delves into his memories, describing the sights, sounds, and smells of the scene, including the aroma of lemons and the feeling of the afternoon sun.

The poem utilizes several literary devices, such as:

Epithets: “quiet courtyard,” “illusion candida,” “lightweight tunic”
Metaphor: “golden fruit” referring to lemons
Present tense: Creates a sense of immediacy and vividness

Banks of the Duero

This poem offers a vision of the Castilian landscape, specifically Soria, marking Machado’s first encounter with the region. It belongs to the external modernism movement and is divided into two parts:

Verses 1-14: An objective description of the landscape, focusing on the tower of Soria and the birds that inhabit the area.
Verses 15-end: A more subjective and celebratory perspective of the landscape.

The poem employs various literary devices, including:

Personification: “leaning a stork / swallow and scream / humble flower is born / the Duero runs, smooth and silent, softly”
Epithets: “winter white / green pines”
Metaphor: “foam Mantana / before the blue distance”
Anaphora: “clear day sun day!”

Embers of Twilight

This poem, with its modernist aesthetics, delves into intimate themes while maintaining a sense of beauty and decorativeness. The brief text consists of three lines, with the first and third rhyming and the second containing internal rhyme.

Loathing

This poem delves into pure emotion and symbolism, expressing themes of sadness, farewell, aging, death, monotony, and melancholy. The poem explores the monotony of life and the passage of time, revealing the poet’s innermost feelings.

The structure is divided into two parts:

Verses 1-8: Addresses the theme of time
Verses 9-end: Focuses on the monotony of life, set in the same place since the speaker’s childhood

The poem utilizes various literary devices, such as:

Epithets: “family room / large room gloomy / tic tac acompasdo / clear water”
Personification: “says the monotony of the clear water falling”
Comparison: “today is the same yesterday qe”
Onomatopoeia: “ticking”

Solodades: I Have Walked Many Paths

This poem, belonging to the modernist movement, praises the everyday and simple things that often go unnoticed. It contrasts the good and bad aspects of social progress and criticizes those who feel superior simply because they avoid what is considered vulgar.

The poem can be divided into three parts:

Verses 1-4: Reference to the author’s life
Verses 5-14: Reference to poor people
Verses 15-end: Reference to good people

The poem’s structure, with parallels between the second and third parts, and its simple language contribute to its understanding.

It Was a Clear Afternoon

This poem explores the theme of nostalgia for the past, possibly reflecting on childhood memories associated with a garden or courtyard with a fountain. The poem is divided into several parts:

Verses 1-4: The poet stands outside the park, feeling wounded.
Verses 5-12: Describes the route the poet takes to enter the park and reach the fountain.
Verses 13-48: A literary dialogue with the water of the fountain.
Verses 49-52: Conclusion, repeating verses 5-9, which described the entrance to the garden.