“If You Forget Me” (Pablo Neruda) Analysis
By: Shavi Sikaria
Tags: Español, Pablo Neruda, Literally Literary, Critical Essay, Chile

Photo by Luis Alfonso Orellana on Unsplash

Pablo Neruda was a Chilean author who was exiled for his views on communism; he wrote “If You Forget Me”” while on vacation with his mistress. It is believed that he wrote it while she was in the same room- so one would naturally think that it is dedicated to her, but there are theories that this poem is actually addressing his complicated relationship with his home- Chile- from where he was banished for his views.

The poem’s first line is, “I want you to know one thing”.

This line is composed of only one sentence, and the words “one thing” seem to be emphasized as the focal point of the sentence’s structure. This emphasis creates a tone that is firm and almost foreboding- it sounds like he meant it as a kind of warning to whomever the poem is addressed to.

The next stanza is “You know how this is: if I look; at the crystal moon, at; the red branch; of the slow autumn at my window; if I touch; near the fire; the impalpable ash; or the wrinkled body of the log; everything carries me to you; as if everything that exists; aromas, light, metals; were little boats; that sail; toward those isles of yours that wait for me.”

This language beautifies the idea that love imbibes itself into everything. Common objects become reminders of a significant other because everything becomes connected to that love.

Then there is “Well, now; if little by little you stop loving me; I shall stop loving you little by little.”

This line seems to communicate that his love must be noticeably reciprocated or it will slowly die. It shows that the love he has for the subject of the poem isn’t a need.

The next stanza is “If suddenly; you forget me; do not look for me; for I shall already have forgotten you.”

The noteworthy aspect of this line is his perceived ability to tell whether his subject will be faithful in the future just by how they are in the present. He is saying he would have already forgotten by the time they forget.

Next is “If you think it long and mad; the wind of banners; that passes through my life; and you decide; to leave me at the shore; of the heart; where I have roots; remember; that on that day; at that hour; I shall lift my arms; and my roots will set off; to seek another land.”

He is saying that if he isn’t accepted for all of his beliefs, he will stop loving the subject the moment he is left, and he will take all his deepest investments in the relationship away with him.

The last stanza is “But; if each day; each hour; you feel that you are destined for me; with implacable sweetness; if each day a flower; climbs up to your lips to seek me; ah my love, ah my own; in me all that fire is repeated; in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten; my love feeds on your love, beloved; and as long as you live it will be in your arms; without leaving mine”

This last stanza is basically articulating that if his subject does choose to love him for everything he is, and continues to believe in the longevity of the love, that love will be everlastingly requited and their connection will be wonderful and complete.

I think this poem was ultimately written for Neruda’s lover, but it also has an unintentional double meaning in the way he feels about Chile and the way it “forgot” him because of his communist beliefs even though he would have loved it until the end if the circumstances were different.