The first poem of Nerudas that illustrates loss through masterful use of imagery, symbolism, metaphor, and allusion is Sonnet 7. The poem adopts the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, which often follows an abb abba rhyme scheme, this type of verse usually presents a problem within the first eight lines, using the remaining six lines to offer a resolution. In the translated version of Sonnet 7, there are no instances of rhyming, the translated version also doesnt have the same meter that the original has. Nonetheless, the poem consists of three stanzas, totaling fourteen lines. The translation still adheres to the structure of the Petrarchan sonnet, however loosely; Neruda fills the first eight lines attempting to describe the speakerΒs love for their partner; I love you as the plant that doesnt bloom but carries / the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself (lines 5-6) It is within the f
inal six lines that the speaker concedes and abandons trying to explain why he loves his partner, instead, he explains that he loves them because he doesnt know how else to express the intense affection and affinity he feels for his partner; I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where (line 9) The use of a Petrarchan sonnet to express the love the speaker is feeling allows the audience to understand the emotional tension and intensity that the speaker is feeling in the first eight lines, and ultimately that tension is relieved in the final six lines. Though Sonnet 7 conveys feelings of intense love, there is an underlying message that is revealed through Nerudas use of symbols, imagery, and allegory. It could be argued that the speaker is simultaneously experiencing an all-consuming love and a loss of identity. The speaker describes his love for his partner first through imagery;