Lara Rydesky

Mrs. McGee

English I - 4th

18 December 2017

“Your Laughter” Questions and Analysis

Part I:

1)

a) Assonance: “with eyes tired at times” (Neruda 11)

b) Alliteration: “if suddenly you see my blood staining the stones of the street”

(Neruda 20)

c) Stanzas: Six

d) Rhyme Scheme: Free verse

e) Repetition: “Laugh at the night, at the day, at the moon, laugh at the twisted

streets of the island, laugh at this clumsy boy who loves you” (Neruda 34)

2)

a) Speaker: The speaker is a young boy who values his lover’s laughter above all

things.

b) Tone: The tone is wistful, pleading and loving. The boy asks that his lover’s

laughter never leave because he clings to it in troubled times.

3) I believe the theme of the poem is to cherish those you love and the little joys they bring

you.
 4) The theme of the poem “Your Laughter” by Pablo Neruda is to cherish the little joys

family and friends bring, and he uses alliteration, stanzas, and repetition to convey this

theme.

Part II:

Analysis of Pablo Neruda’s “Your Laughter”

Most people find that when they are in love, their partner’s happiness brings happiness to

them as well. Pablo Neruda, in his poem “Your Laughter,” builds on this theme common in

today’s view of romance - pure joy at the other’s mere presence. He talks about his love’s

laughter and how it brings him strength, joy, and life in times of darkness. His use of certain

literary elements clearly show certain themes prevalent in the poem. The theme of Neruda’s

“Your Laughter” is to cherish the little joys family, friends, and others bring, and he uses

alliteration, stanzas, and repetition to convey this theme.

Neruda’s use of alliteration, or the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of

connected words, in his poem emphasizes certain points which are essential to deciphering the

theme. In line 20, he states “and if suddenly you see my blood staining the stones of the street,

laugh, because your laughter will be for my hands like a fresh sword.” The “s” sound is a violent

one, and the alliteration used on the words suddenly, see, staining, stones, and street show the

desperation of the situation he is hypothetically creating, which displays his dependence on his

lover’s laugh as an anchor and source of strength. The quote “and in the spring, love, I want your

laughter like the flower I was waiting for” is another example of alliteration (Neruda 29). The

words love, laughter, and like all begin with the letter “l,” which is a truly romantic sound. That,

paired with the fact that each of those words has a positive connotation, is indicative of how
much Neruda reveres his lover and their laughter as a symbol of love and happiness in his life.

The alliteration in this poem is a large indicator of the theme that one should cherish their little

joys brought by those around them.

Another gauge of this theme is the number and shape of the stanzas used. For example,

the last stanza is much longer than the rest of them, which brings focus and emphasis to the point

that stanza is trying to convey. Not coincidentally, this last stanza is the one that summarizes the

point of the poem. Neruda says “deny me bread, air, light, spring, but never your laughter for I

would die,” which details just how much he values the laughter of his love (Neruda 44). Another

example is the opposite and focuses on the first paragraph, which is much shorter than the rest.

This first stanza, “take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but do not take from me

your laughter,” says, to an effect, the same thing as the last stanza, but is much shorter (Neruda

1). This gives, albeit a different type, but the same level of emphasis as is taken advantage of in

the final lines. The stanzas in relation to each other emphasize the main points of the poem, and

are thus important in identifying the theme.

A final element that conveys the theme is Neruda’s usage of repetition in the first and last

stanzas. As stated in the previous paragraph, the author repeats essentially the same phrase at the

very beginning and very end of the poem. This repetition brings emphasis to this one point,

“deny me bread, air, light, spring, but never your laughter for I would die,” which is essential to

this particular interpretation of the theme (Neruda 44). This quote shows how Neruda values his

lover’s laughter above all other things, including those essential to life itself. One could suppose

that his lover’s happiness is his will to live in and of itself. Another example of repetition can be

found in the last stanza where the author states “Laugh at the night, at the day, at the moon, laugh

at the twisted streets of the island, laugh at this clumsy boy who loves you” (Neruda 34). This
repetition of the phrase “laugh at the” clearly exhibits his want, desire, and almost need for his

lover to laugh, once again revealing that he values this above all else, even his pride, according

to the last section of the quote. The repetition Neruda uses is an obvious way of emphasizing

certain points integral to the theme.

In conclusion, the theme of “Your Laughter” by Pablo Neruda is to not take for granted

the joy others bring, and to value their happiness above your own. He shows this through what

points in the poem he chooses to emphasize via alliteration, stanza structure, and repetition. This

theme is important in today’s society, although underappreciated. It is essential to a person’s

happiness to find joy in others, not just themselves. This does not necessarily apply only to

romantic relationships, but to everyone people will encounter during their lifetime.