Canto general.

• Author: Mujica, Barbara

This new English edition of Neruda's Canto general highlights the talents of three outstanding individuals. The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, is, of course, one of the century's greatest literary figures. Jack Schmitt is a highly regarded translator whose English version of Raul Zurita's Anteparaiso attracted considerable attention when it was published in 1986. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, who has written extensively on contemporary Spanish American poetry, is one of Hispanism's most respected critics.

The Canto general published in Mexico and clandestinely in Chile in 1950, is a long poetic chronicle of Latin America written from a Marxist perspective. Gonzalez Echeverria points out that the title, which means literally "General Song," harks back to the medieval period. In works such as Alfonso el Sabio's Generale Storia, "general" referred to the vast sum of human experience, both concrete and mythological. In works such as the Chanson de Roland, "song" evokes the idea of "national epic." Composed of fiteen sections, each one of which is made up of several poems, the Canto general relates the history of Latin American from 1400 until the middle of the twentieth century, emphasizing the exploitation of the native populations.

In "cortes," for example, Neruda focuses on the Conquistador's greed, his manipulation of the hostility that existed between the Tlaxcaltecs and the Aztecs, and on his betrayal of Moctezuma's trust. Neruda conveys Cortes' inhumanity through metaphors that liken him to blind forces or lifeless tissue: "rayo frio" ("chilling thunderbolt"); "corazon muerto en la armadura" ("cold heart clad in armor"). On the other hand, the poet associates the Indian with natural, procreative, and cosmic elements.

Neruda sings the praises of the working masses--the farmer...