تألق جواكان مورييتا ومصرعه

by Pablo Neruda, بابلو نيرودا, محمد عيتاني (Translator)

English, Spanish

Genres: Poetry, Plays

135 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Pablo 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.

Reviews

[Fabian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plays are oftentimes hard to read (ahem, E Albee, ahem, A Miller, ...) but this one is very precise, reading almost like a spec. script. The injustices committed against the famous bandit is the focus, a total 180 from Yellowbird's famous narrative of the vigilante. This is 2/3 love story, 1/3 violent revenge epic... a Chilean's interpretation of the man who inspired all the Zorro movies.

The play is applicable to our modern day: racism still exists, and we see this as it is unjustly pounded upon the influx of Latin immigrants who look at the U.S. entirely as a goldmine (which, as we know, it simply is NOT) and prefer to leave the comforts of their own homelands, risking EVERYTHING, just for one chance at making something of themselves. The Klansmen are inarticulate bozos who kill every newcomer, including the hero's damsel, Teresa, & this is the incident which finally leads to his vigilantism. The use of actors speaking out this Robin-Hood-of-the-Wild-West's heroic acts, and only his decapitated (talking!) head as representative of Murieta, gives the whole production a patina of surrealism & effervescence. He is legend and rumor, and as such, only by the spoken word is he made manifest.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Splendor and Death of Joaquin Murieta by Pablo Neruda



The title promised much, but I did not get any of the anticipated pleasure.

This is not to say that the work is responsible in any way.

A number of novels and plays just don’t seem to get under my skin.

After a few lines, my mind wonders and it is clear that nothing will be left at the end of the play (it is my ritual of starting the day with…a play).

This is why I can say that the play may be very good, for I have no idea- it did not agree with me at the start, so the play was on for one or two hours, but I was off somewhere else, even if the sound in my ear was from a stage, in another world.

Perhaps the Splendor and Death of Joaquin Murieta is, well…splendid.

[Pau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eigenwillig, aber interessant. Passend zum Vorwort von Neruda selbst: "Die Idee für den Trauerzug, der sehr pathetisch sein muss, aber von einer bettelhaften Pathetik, die ans Groteske grenzt, habe ich der unvergesslichen Aufführung eines No-Theaters entnommen, dass ich einmal in einem Vorstadttheater in Yokohama sah. ... Ich verstand übrigens nichts von den Vorgängen in jenem japanischen Stück. Möge den Zuschauern meiner Tragödie das gleiche widerfahren!"

[Raffasce · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dal titolo e da Neruda mi aspettavo molto più coinvolgimento ed emozione. Al contrario, in lettura non riuscivo a rimanere concentrata sul testo né a lasciarmi trasportare dalle parole. Personalmente, sono rimasta molto delusa dall’opera

[Reema Hamza · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب يتحدث عن الحرية و الإنسان ونضاله في سبيلها ... كان اول كتاب قرأته لنيرودا وأحد أسباب تعرفي على شاعر النضال قبل الحب ...

[Julius B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange starting point for Neruda I’m sure but hey it’s what I had available to read

[Teresa Cintra · Rating 4 out of 5]

joaquin murieta herói justiceiro vingativo!!

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jag måste erkänna att jag inte var överdrivet imponerad av Nerudas pjäs (åtminstone inte i dess svenska tolkning). Eventuellt kan det tänkas fungera på scen, med allt sitt spektakel, men som ett läsdrama faller det platt för. Det blir för mycket berättande och för många opersonliga röster och körinslag. Som läsare finner jag alltför ofta att jag inte vet var dessa röster befinner sig i förhållande till varandra, och när fyra röster talar om en sak omväxlande solo, i par och i grupp, blir det ingen tydlig effekt på sidan av uppdelningen (varför sägs just den här repliken av den rösten eller de rösterna). Och just där erbjuder inte scenbeskrivningarna någon guidning.

Slutkontentan är en viss besvikelse på något som jag hade förväntat mig mer av, men inte utan viss behållning.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

neruda plays read like poetry, with long narratives by different choruses and such. this isn't necessarily bad, but i feel like the characters are underdeveloped because of it. there are some great moments, but most of it just feels like a long bloody narrative.

[Chz · Rating 4 out of 5]

apaixonado e intenso

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars