What do you think?
Rate this book
Odes to Opposites
A handsome collection of never-before-translated poems by one of the great poets of the century features two lovely pencil illustrations for each poem and includes the original Spanish poem opposite each translation.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 1995
14 people are currently reading
491 people want to read
About the author
Pablo Neruda
1,082 books9,623 followersPablo Neruda, born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto in 1904 in Parral, Chile, was a poet, diplomat, and politician, widely considered one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century. From an early age, he showed a deep passion for poetry, publishing his first works as a teenager. He adopted the pen name Pablo Neruda to avoid disapproval from his father, who discouraged his literary ambitions. His breakthrough came with Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, 1924), a collection of deeply emotional and sensual poetry that gained international recognition and remains one of his most celebrated works.
Neruda’s career took him beyond literature into diplomacy, a path that allowed him to travel extensively and engage with political movements around the world. Beginning in 1927, he served in various consular posts in Asia and later in Spain, where he witnessed the Spanish Civil War and became an outspoken advocate for the Republican cause. His experiences led him to embrace communism, a commitment that would shape much of his later poetry and political activism. His collection España en el corazón (Spain in Our Hearts, 1937) reflected his deep sorrow over the war and marked a shift toward politically engaged writing.
Returning to Chile, he was elected to the Senate in 1945 as a member of the Communist Party. However, his vocal opposition to the repressive policies of President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla led to his exile. During this period, he traveled through various countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and the Soviet Union, further cementing his status as a global literary and political figure. It was during these years that he wrote Canto General (1950), an epic work chronicling Latin American history and the struggles of its people.
Neruda’s return to Chile in 1952 marked a new phase in his life, balancing political activity with a prolific literary output. He remained a staunch supporter of socialist ideals and later developed a close relationship with Salvador Allende, who appointed him as Chile’s ambassador to France in 1970. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for the scope and impact of his poetry. His later years were marked by illness, and he died in 1973, just days after the military coup that overthrew Allende. His legacy endures, not only in his vast body of work but also in his influence on literature, political thought, and the cultural identity of Latin America.
Neruda’s career took him beyond literature into diplomacy, a path that allowed him to travel extensively and engage with political movements around the world. Beginning in 1927, he served in various consular posts in Asia and later in Spain, where he witnessed the Spanish Civil War and became an outspoken advocate for the Republican cause. His experiences led him to embrace communism, a commitment that would shape much of his later poetry and political activism. His collection España en el corazón (Spain in Our Hearts, 1937) reflected his deep sorrow over the war and marked a shift toward politically engaged writing.
Returning to Chile, he was elected to the Senate in 1945 as a member of the Communist Party. However, his vocal opposition to the repressive policies of President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla led to his exile. During this period, he traveled through various countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and the Soviet Union, further cementing his status as a global literary and political figure. It was during these years that he wrote Canto General (1950), an epic work chronicling Latin American history and the struggles of its people.
Neruda’s return to Chile in 1952 marked a new phase in his life, balancing political activity with a prolific literary output. He remained a staunch supporter of socialist ideals and later developed a close relationship with Salvador Allende, who appointed him as Chile’s ambassador to France in 1970. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for the scope and impact of his poetry. His later years were marked by illness, and he died in 1973, just days after the military coup that overthrew Allende. His legacy endures, not only in his vast body of work but also in his influence on literature, political thought, and the cultural identity of Latin America.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 10, 2009
puisi itu bunyi. dan neruda maestro untuk itu. sungguh puitis. pun jika kita -saya- tak tahu apa maksud dan makna kata dalam puisi neruda. semoga kau suka.
Dan saya baru tahu, bahwa Neruda pernah tinggal di Jakarta. Tepatnya saat bernama Batavia dulu. Saat itu tahun 1927 - 1932, Neruda menjadi konsul di Asia. Dia tinggal beberapa tahun di Jl Probolinggo -sepertinya di daerah Menteng ya-. Di Batavia juga, Neruda jatuh cinta kepada Maria Antonieta Agenaar, gadis blasteran Belanda-Melayu kelahiran Jawa. Pada tahun 1930 gadis itu akhirnya resmi menjadi istri Neruda. Pasangan ini bercerai pada tahun 1936 berbarengan berkecamuknya perang saudara di Spanyol.
Karir penyair Neruda memang akrab dengan aktivitas politik. Pada tahun 1945 Neruda resmi masuk partai komunis Cile. Sebagai penganut marxisme dia sempat bertemu Fidel Castro, namun hanya berangkulan akrab. Castro menolak untuk berfoto bersamanya.
Neruda sungguh tak mengerti akan sikap Castro itu. Dia membandingkan sikap Castro itu dengan sikap Che Guevara yang dinilainya cukup akrab dan suka berkelakar. Bahkan, Neruda terharu mendengarkan cerita Che, kalau salah satu karyanya dibacakan Che kepada para gerilya di Sierra Maestra di Kuba. Beberapa tahun kemudian Neruda gemetar mendengar Che meninggal. Apalagi dia diberitahu bahwa di dalam ransel Che di hutan Bolivia hanya terdapat dua buku: buku Aritmatika dan buku karya Neruda.
Meski akrab dengan politik, tapi sebagian besar puisi Neruda bercerita tentang cinta. Beberapa kritikus sastra menempatkan puisi Neruda sebagai puisi yang humanis sehingga layak dianugerahi Nobel Sastra. Harapan itu terwujud pada tahun 1971. Penyair dengan nama asli Neftali Ricardo Reyes y Basoalto menerima Nobel Sastra. Meski ada pro dan kontra karena aktivitas Neruda yang akrab dengan politik. Meski demikian, di masa tuanya, Neruda yang menikah lagi dengan Matilda Urutti, hidup tenang di sebuah rumah yang mereka beri nama 'Isla Negara'. Rumah berarsitektur kapal di pinggir pantai pasifik.
Pada hari-hari akhir hidupnya Neruda mengatakan, "Aku selalu mengerjakan hal yang sama. Aku tak pernah akan berhenti melakukan hal itu, menulis puisi. Menulis bagiku seperti pekerjaan tukang sepatu, yang tidak makin baik atau makin buruk."
23 September 1973, menjelang pukul sebelas malam, Neruda meninggal karena kanker. Kematian Neruda hanya berjarak 11 hari dengan kematian Salvador Allende, Presiden Cile, yang dikudeta oleh Jenderal Augusto Pinochet pada 11 September 1973. Neruda dimakamkan dekat dengan Isla Negara. (diolah dari berbagai sumber)
---
Dus, membaca Odes to Opposites adalah membaca Neruda. Membaca Neruda adalah ikhtiar memahami kehidupan dengan segala hal yang melatarinya. Dari hal yang paling sederhana hingga hal yang sulit untuk dijelaskan.
Odes to Opposites adalah kumpulan 'puzzle' hidup. Yang menyusun kita sebagai manusia. Ada hujan, pagi, bahagia, sedih, ombak, laut, api, masa sekarang, masa lalu, masa depan, pun hubungan cinta yang rahasia.
Neruda mengajarkan tentang 'persengkokolan semesta' -meminjam istilah teman saya-. Kita bisa belajar hidup dari hujan. Kita bisa menanam harapan dari pagi. Dan kita bisa berterimakasih kepada siapa saja karena cinta. Memuliakan kehidupan dengan sesuatu yang kita punya. Meski dengan cara metafora. Kata Neruda, hanya dengan menjadi penyair, kau bisa mengatakan apa saja yang kau mau. Seperti seorang Mario Jimenez -tokoh dalam novel Il Postino- itu. Neruda menuntun tukang pos itu untuk mengerti metafora dengan penjelasan sepele: "Metafora adalah cara memerikan sesuatu dengan membandingkan dengan hal lain". Neruda pun lekas memberi pertanyaan: "Apa maksud langit menangis". Tukang pos dengan enteng menjawab: "hujan". Mario Jimenez dengan takjub mengatakan: "Itulah metafora!"
Dan hal inilah yang saya temukan dalam Odes to Opposites.
the rain returned.
it didn't come from the sky
or out of the west:
it came straight from my childhood.
night split open, a peal of thunder
rattled, the racket
swept every lonely corner,
an then
the rain came,
rain returning
from my childhood,
first
a raging
gust,
then
a planet's
soggy
tail...
rain,
sea of the upper air,
fresh,
naked rose,
voice of the sky,
black violin,
sheer beauty:
i have loved you
since my childhood
not for your goodness
but for your beauty... Ode to rain hal 79.
---
Bahkan, ketika membaca Ode to a secret love halaman 139, saya mengimajinasikan ada kejadian sebagai berikut:
Ketika perempuan itu datang ke hidupku, aku sudah mempunyai Matilda. Dan Perempuan itu mempunyai Allende. Perempuan itu datang pada suatu malam, ketika alkohol membawa kami –saya dan perempuan itu- saling menggenggam. Dia menyandarkan kepalanya ke pundakku. Sementara aku terdiam memandang lampu di kafe itu. Hingga pada suatu detik, alkohol telah membuat bibir kami berdekatan dalam sebuah ciuman penuh aroma. Setengah mabok. Bahkan dia memelukku ketika kami memutuskan untuk pulang ke gumpalan permasalahan masing-masing. Aku dengan rapuhnya Matilda. Perempuan itu dengan keras kepalanya Allende. Kami bertemu di tikungan yang sepi dengan wajah yang ditekuk. Luka dan kesedihan membawa kami dalam hubungan tak bernama. Dalam sekejap. Hanya dengan tatapan, aku sudah melupakan Matilda dan anakku. Dan dia sudah melupakan Allende dan anaknya.
---
Puisi itu bunyi. Bunyi air yang mengalir. Pun karena itu ia berhasil mengikis batu. Neruda adalah maestro untuk itu.
Dan saya baru tahu, bahwa Neruda pernah tinggal di Jakarta. Tepatnya saat bernama Batavia dulu. Saat itu tahun 1927 - 1932, Neruda menjadi konsul di Asia. Dia tinggal beberapa tahun di Jl Probolinggo -sepertinya di daerah Menteng ya-. Di Batavia juga, Neruda jatuh cinta kepada Maria Antonieta Agenaar, gadis blasteran Belanda-Melayu kelahiran Jawa. Pada tahun 1930 gadis itu akhirnya resmi menjadi istri Neruda. Pasangan ini bercerai pada tahun 1936 berbarengan berkecamuknya perang saudara di Spanyol.
Karir penyair Neruda memang akrab dengan aktivitas politik. Pada tahun 1945 Neruda resmi masuk partai komunis Cile. Sebagai penganut marxisme dia sempat bertemu Fidel Castro, namun hanya berangkulan akrab. Castro menolak untuk berfoto bersamanya.
Neruda sungguh tak mengerti akan sikap Castro itu. Dia membandingkan sikap Castro itu dengan sikap Che Guevara yang dinilainya cukup akrab dan suka berkelakar. Bahkan, Neruda terharu mendengarkan cerita Che, kalau salah satu karyanya dibacakan Che kepada para gerilya di Sierra Maestra di Kuba. Beberapa tahun kemudian Neruda gemetar mendengar Che meninggal. Apalagi dia diberitahu bahwa di dalam ransel Che di hutan Bolivia hanya terdapat dua buku: buku Aritmatika dan buku karya Neruda.
Meski akrab dengan politik, tapi sebagian besar puisi Neruda bercerita tentang cinta. Beberapa kritikus sastra menempatkan puisi Neruda sebagai puisi yang humanis sehingga layak dianugerahi Nobel Sastra. Harapan itu terwujud pada tahun 1971. Penyair dengan nama asli Neftali Ricardo Reyes y Basoalto menerima Nobel Sastra. Meski ada pro dan kontra karena aktivitas Neruda yang akrab dengan politik. Meski demikian, di masa tuanya, Neruda yang menikah lagi dengan Matilda Urutti, hidup tenang di sebuah rumah yang mereka beri nama 'Isla Negara'. Rumah berarsitektur kapal di pinggir pantai pasifik.
Pada hari-hari akhir hidupnya Neruda mengatakan, "Aku selalu mengerjakan hal yang sama. Aku tak pernah akan berhenti melakukan hal itu, menulis puisi. Menulis bagiku seperti pekerjaan tukang sepatu, yang tidak makin baik atau makin buruk."
23 September 1973, menjelang pukul sebelas malam, Neruda meninggal karena kanker. Kematian Neruda hanya berjarak 11 hari dengan kematian Salvador Allende, Presiden Cile, yang dikudeta oleh Jenderal Augusto Pinochet pada 11 September 1973. Neruda dimakamkan dekat dengan Isla Negara. (diolah dari berbagai sumber)
---
Dus, membaca Odes to Opposites adalah membaca Neruda. Membaca Neruda adalah ikhtiar memahami kehidupan dengan segala hal yang melatarinya. Dari hal yang paling sederhana hingga hal yang sulit untuk dijelaskan.
Odes to Opposites adalah kumpulan 'puzzle' hidup. Yang menyusun kita sebagai manusia. Ada hujan, pagi, bahagia, sedih, ombak, laut, api, masa sekarang, masa lalu, masa depan, pun hubungan cinta yang rahasia.
Neruda mengajarkan tentang 'persengkokolan semesta' -meminjam istilah teman saya-. Kita bisa belajar hidup dari hujan. Kita bisa menanam harapan dari pagi. Dan kita bisa berterimakasih kepada siapa saja karena cinta. Memuliakan kehidupan dengan sesuatu yang kita punya. Meski dengan cara metafora. Kata Neruda, hanya dengan menjadi penyair, kau bisa mengatakan apa saja yang kau mau. Seperti seorang Mario Jimenez -tokoh dalam novel Il Postino- itu. Neruda menuntun tukang pos itu untuk mengerti metafora dengan penjelasan sepele: "Metafora adalah cara memerikan sesuatu dengan membandingkan dengan hal lain". Neruda pun lekas memberi pertanyaan: "Apa maksud langit menangis". Tukang pos dengan enteng menjawab: "hujan". Mario Jimenez dengan takjub mengatakan: "Itulah metafora!"
Dan hal inilah yang saya temukan dalam Odes to Opposites.
the rain returned.
it didn't come from the sky
or out of the west:
it came straight from my childhood.
night split open, a peal of thunder
rattled, the racket
swept every lonely corner,
an then
the rain came,
rain returning
from my childhood,
first
a raging
gust,
then
a planet's
soggy
tail...
rain,
sea of the upper air,
fresh,
naked rose,
voice of the sky,
black violin,
sheer beauty:
i have loved you
since my childhood
not for your goodness
but for your beauty... Ode to rain hal 79.
---
Bahkan, ketika membaca Ode to a secret love halaman 139, saya mengimajinasikan ada kejadian sebagai berikut:
Ketika perempuan itu datang ke hidupku, aku sudah mempunyai Matilda. Dan Perempuan itu mempunyai Allende. Perempuan itu datang pada suatu malam, ketika alkohol membawa kami –saya dan perempuan itu- saling menggenggam. Dia menyandarkan kepalanya ke pundakku. Sementara aku terdiam memandang lampu di kafe itu. Hingga pada suatu detik, alkohol telah membuat bibir kami berdekatan dalam sebuah ciuman penuh aroma. Setengah mabok. Bahkan dia memelukku ketika kami memutuskan untuk pulang ke gumpalan permasalahan masing-masing. Aku dengan rapuhnya Matilda. Perempuan itu dengan keras kepalanya Allende. Kami bertemu di tikungan yang sepi dengan wajah yang ditekuk. Luka dan kesedihan membawa kami dalam hubungan tak bernama. Dalam sekejap. Hanya dengan tatapan, aku sudah melupakan Matilda dan anakku. Dan dia sudah melupakan Allende dan anaknya.
---
Puisi itu bunyi. Bunyi air yang mengalir. Pun karena itu ia berhasil mengikis batu. Neruda adalah maestro untuk itu.
July 26, 2011
Enjoyed how Neruda made abstractions concrete, gregarious, ecstatic. Found these poems a wee bit more provocative than the Odes to Common Objects--though both have the same headlong exuberance and delight (that's how I read the solitary words, or few words to each line, as sheer, extenuated, luxurious delight).
November 27, 2017
Reading these poems I can see easily why Pablo Neruda won the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature. This bilingual edition has the odes in their original Spanish facing the translation in English, with pencil illustrations accompanying them. It was simultaneously fascinating and infuriating. I would read the original versions, trying to translate for myself, and then read the English versions to make sure I had complete comprehension (woo boy is my Spanish rusty) and I would come up again and again with phrases I would have translated another way. It makes me wonder what would have happened to these odes in the hands of a woman translator.
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
August 27, 2025
Escribire no solo
para no morirme
sino para ayudar
a que otros vivan,
porque parece que alguien
necesita mi canto.
translated as:
I will go on writing not simply
to keep from dying
but to help
others live,
because it seems someone
needs my song.
from Ode to envy
para no morirme
sino para ayudar
a que otros vivan,
porque parece que alguien
necesita mi canto.
translated as:
I will go on writing not simply
to keep from dying
but to help
others live,
because it seems someone
needs my song.
from Ode to envy
August 5, 2011
simple and meaningful poems... understandable, even in Spanish.
September 12, 2018
Fantastic wordsmithing, even when translated.
February 19, 2022
Another beautiful volume to go along with Odes to Common Things. It has the same side-by-side Spanish and English versions, with the lovely, elegant illustrations.
May 27, 2023
Pablo Neruda will always top my list of favorite poets. 😍 I love the imagery and creativity in all of his poems.
June 8, 2023
randomly picked this up for an assignment and ended up really liking it! super fun and interesting to dig into and annotate and just good pieces of writing overall!
October 13, 2024
3 3/4 stars
August 9, 2007
P introduced me to neruda when she made me listen to that il postino CD one night after arriving from some uneventful day at the office. it was an emotive acquaintance i remember, quite a different experience. and i guess i didn't want to (and have not) disentangle(d) myself with the poet after that. so imagine my elation when i got this book from R during my 26th birthday. neruda has this great way with words - simple words but everytime you read him you will see new layers of meanings underneath those words. it's just frustrating that i didn't take seriously my basic and advanced spanish classes before, it might have been much more interesting if i would be able to read him in his own language. in this book, "ode to autumn" struck me the most...quiet but not somber, and makes me think of those words like steadfast, hopeful, poignant. sometimes it also makes me think about the people who prepare the ground for change (so to speak). oh well, i miss that book. R, please take care of it until i got back.
January 18, 2015
Not the best work by Neruda. Or perhaps the translation is to blame? This should be one of the last books that die hard fans read.
When socialist dogma about poverty or justice is juxtaposed with imagery of nature, it seems jarring. It's as if these things flow naturally together in Neruda's mind, but not in my mind, and he makes no effort to link them. Rain turns into revolution in one poem, but I didn't feel it.
Favorite poems were Ode to Envy, Ode to Joy, and To My Duties.
Some lines that I enjoyed from the other poems:
Ode to Fall
The work of extinguishing the world...drawing wine from grapes...its a job for strong hands.
Ode to Spring
The wind delivers a green letter for all the trees to read....The whole world stretches, the whole world reaches out groping for substance in which to repeat its form.
Ode to Waves
Suddenly the salt shaker empties: motion is transformed into foam
Ode to Rain
I trudged along in my ruined shoes while threads of streaming sky unraveled over my head...
When socialist dogma about poverty or justice is juxtaposed with imagery of nature, it seems jarring. It's as if these things flow naturally together in Neruda's mind, but not in my mind, and he makes no effort to link them. Rain turns into revolution in one poem, but I didn't feel it.
Favorite poems were Ode to Envy, Ode to Joy, and To My Duties.
Some lines that I enjoyed from the other poems:
Ode to Fall
The work of extinguishing the world...drawing wine from grapes...its a job for strong hands.
Ode to Spring
The wind delivers a green letter for all the trees to read....The whole world stretches, the whole world reaches out groping for substance in which to repeat its form.
Ode to Waves
Suddenly the salt shaker empties: motion is transformed into foam
Ode to Rain
I trudged along in my ruined shoes while threads of streaming sky unraveled over my head...
March 10, 2018
The highest praise I can give to a book of poetry is that its images and harmony stay with you long after your first encounter. The evidence of this effect is that one is drawn back again and again to experience them (to draw another ladle of water from that well and to see if it still tastes the same). The question is not what the poem means , nor how does it make you feel, but rather, how does it mirror the experience of your life and times? Ode to Rain is a piece so full of meaning for me that I feel like I am stepping right into the pages each time I read it.
January 19, 2010
The collection was nicely presented and translated, however, I was not too fond of the selection of poems. The poems were paired together well, but as a whole lacked a depth I found in other works of Neruda. If I were to offer a book as an introduction to the work Neruda I would much sooner choose 100 Love Sonnets: Cien sonetos de amor.
August 12, 2007
as with the "odes to common things" this edition of "odes to opposites" is not only beautiful because of what's written but also because of the exquisite way to book if designed. being able to see the neruda's poems in both the original spanish and the translated english lends enchantment not only to the thoughts expressed but also to the words themselves.
January 28, 2008
Beguiling with their simplicity, most of these poems were good, some were amazing (Ode to Enchanted Light, Ode to Peace and Quiet). I didn't enjoy them as much as his sonnets, but well worth reading. This particular edition of the book is beautifully illustrated with black and white drawings that add to the book's simple but beautiful quality.
January 30, 2008
I only knew the name Pablo Neruda from the flick Il Postino that was popular in the mid- 90’s. Then I got this book as a gift from a friend and loved it. A clever conceit with pairing poems against each other (Ode to Night, Ode to Day) and there’s just endless great lines you’ll be swiping for various cards and e-mails to other friends (just remember to give proper credit to Mr. Neruda).
March 21, 2016
Some lovely pieces but juxtaposed with Communist agitprop. Neruda was a lifelong Communist politician from Chile who rose and fell with Allende in 1973. Although already dying from cancer, it is suspected that he was killed at the orders of Pinochet in 1973. Be that as it may, some of the odes are simply exquisite.
October 22, 2011
Being Neruda this was better than most any random book of poetry I might pick up, but for some reason I wasn't all that impressed with his odes. I still have Odes to Common Things at hand but will read another poet first to give myself a break. Perhaps I will like those more than Opposites.
February 18, 2012
The Odes to Opposites by Neruda, bring an added insight into the mind and heart of the poet. I read it first in Spanish and then in English and I found the song in Spanish and many beautiful lines in the English translation. I will read it again and again. Wonderful!
June 25, 2007
Typical Neruda greatness. Poems about "opposites" (mostly)--eg fall and spring, fire and rain, etc--nicely juxtaposed. Clever idea that works very well for the most part.
September 21, 2007
Gorgeous.
February 9, 2008
i found this to be an entirely grueling experience, though i imagine translating poetry from one language to another leaves a considerable amount of room for misinterpretation.
February 3, 2009
With illustrations, among the most beautiful books my hands have held.
April 13, 2010
. . . a few years after "Odes to Common Things," I found "Odes to Opposites." I don't find the simplicity as necessary here, but of course I still love it. After all, it is a book of Neruda poems.
May 7, 2010
Beautiful book with simple, poignant verse and spot-on translations.
July 16, 2011
Never get tired of this ... just in the mood.
July 2, 2011
Poems that would be more appropriate for licensing out to Hallmark gift cards. But what else could one expect from a book published by the AOL Time Warner Book Group imprint Bullfinch?
March 25, 2017
I got this back when it came out (1995) and it, along with Odes to Common Things, remains my favourite collection -- not just of Neruda's poetry, but of any poetry.
May 21, 2008
This is a beautiful edition with nice pencil drawings.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews