1. Michelle Lee, Carrick Scripa, Jenny Yang, Joe Zhang
The Great Tablecloth
Michelle Lee, Carrick Scripa, Jenny Yang, Joe Zhang
Carrick

2. IO
Carrick

3. Estravagario
“The Great Tablecloth” was part of a compilation titled Estravagario
Written when Neruda returned to Chile after travelling the world and moved to Isla Negra on the Pacific Coast
Had been in Italy → victory of anti-Videla forces and the order to arrest leftist was rescinded→ heads back to Chile
Estravagario/Extravagaria was published in 1958 and translated in 1972
Carrick

4. Autumnal Period
Neruda called this time in his life an “autumnal period”
Shows him as more human with flaws and drawbacks
Wiser with older age, feels at home with himself and the world
A time of change for Neruda
Celebrates coming to rest in one place, rediscover of sea and land
Deals a lot with spiritual freedom and the beauty of nature
Carrick

5. Content
Close examination, still shots of all aspects of the natural world
Presents the reader with his daily life and examines critically his Marxist beliefs
Lyric poetry became more personal than his previous works
Reflects his change in opinions
Used to see poetry had been “a deep inner calling in man; from it came liturgy, the psalms, and also the content of religions”
In 1956 Khrushchev’s revelation at the 20th Party Congress of the crimes committed during the Stalin regime
Faith shaken: was a fan of Stalinism until they admitted they killed people
Carrick

6. Perception of the Work
Since the collection is much more personal, he shows that he loves life and his work no matter what others think
Very mixed perception of the work
Seen as one of his best and most heartfelt anthologies by some, while others see it as one of his worst
Michelle

7. Discussion Questions
Why do you think nature has become so important in these works?
Based on the title “The Great Tablecloth” and the information we have given you, what do you think the poem will be about?
Michelle

8. IOC

9. The Poem
To start, here is a dramatic reading of the poem to give you a sense of the work.

10. Dominant Effect
In “The Great Tablecloth,” Neruda expresses his belief in socialism and universal brotherhood by using similes to liken people across the world to each other through hunger and the human need for food.

11. The Great Tablecloth IOC
Simile
Personification
Metaphor
When they were called to the table,
the tyrants came rushing
with their temporary ladies,
it was fine to watch the women pass
like wasps with big bosoms
followed by those pale
and unfortunate public tigers.
The peasant in the field ate
his poor quota of bread,
he was alone, it was late,
he was surrounded by wheat,
but he had no more bread;
he ate it with grim teeth,
looking at it with hard eyes.
Uses metaphor to call tyrants pale, unfortunate public tigers. who “came rushing with their temporary ladies” to the table for food. Suggests they come for food similar to how tigers do, hunger is a basic need that everyone succumbs to
Uses hopeless tone to create somber mood

12. The Great Tablecloth IOC (Continued)
In the blue hour of eating,
the infinite hour of the roast,
the poet abandons his lyre,
takes up his knife and fork, puts his glass on the table,
and the fishermen attend
the little sea of the soup bowl.
Burning potatoes protest
among the tongues of oil.
The lamb is gold on its coals
and the onion undresses.
It is sad to eat in dinner clothes,
like eating in a coffin,
but eating in convents
is like eating underground.
Eating alone is a disappointment,
but not eating matters more,
is hollow and green, has thorns
like a child of fish-hooks
trailing from the heart,
clawing at your insides.
Simile
Personification
Metaphor
Both the poet and fishermen abandon their work to eat. Shows human need for food and how it is universal and transcends superficial differences among people. Connects back to the tyrants who “come rushing” to the table for food. Everyone needs to eat
Brings up idea of hunger and how torturous it is. Everyone feels the same hunger pangs “clawing at [their] insides”

13. The Great Tablecloth IOC (Continued)
Communicates socialist ideas of feeding those who can’t feed themselves and creating a universal source of food which all can eat from because the plate is as big as the moon. Calls eating a “justice” as if it is not something that anyone should be deprived of.
Idea of Universal Brotherhood through his hope that there will be “a plate like the moon itself from which we can all eat”
Hunger feels like pincers,
like the bite of crabs,
it burns and has no fire.
Hunger is a cold fire.
Let us sit down to eat
with all those who haven't eaten;
let us spread great tablecloths,
put salt in the lakes of the world,
set up planetary bakeries,
tables with strawberries in snow,
and a plate like the moon itself
from which we can all eat.
For now I ask no more
than the justice of eating.
Translated by Alastair Reid - Wuthering (1988)
Simile
Personification
Metaphor

14. Tone and Mood
Starts out sounding critical of the tyrants and hopeless about eating alone and “[eating] in dinner clothes”
Last stanza communicates hope of universal dinner with all and has a hopeful tone which shows how Neruda wishes for socialism to help all people live a better life
This shift from a critical to hopeful tone makes the mood of the poem shift as well from separation to one of brotherhood achieved through food

15. Creative Interpretation
Joe

16. Our “Great Tablecloth” Collage
We have included a combination of aspects of the work and Neruda’s life
The black and white represents the shift in tone
Hopeless (Black) → Hopeful (White)
Joe

17. Now it’s your turn...
Based on what you’ve learned from the presentation, create a tablecloth! Take 2 minutes to draw a picture related to either the poem or Neruda’s life. When you finish, add it to our universal tablecloth. Be prepared to explain your addition to the tablecloth.
Joe

18. Works Cited
Cortínez, Carlos. “La transmutación simbólica de la mujer en dos poemas de Pablo Neruda.” Hispanic Review 60.1 (1992): JSTOR. Web. 15 Nov
“Estravagario.” Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc., n.d. Web. 15 Nov
“Estravagario (Extravagaria).” Goodreads. Goodreads Inc, Web. 15 Nov
“Extravagaria.” Bookdepository. The Book Depository Ltd., Web. 15 Nov
Gleaves, Robert. “Modes of Metaphoric Expression in Pablo Neruda's Estravagario.” Chasqui 19.1 (1990): JSTOR. Web. 15 Nov
Liukkonen, Petri. “Pablo Neruda ( ).” Pablo Neruda. N.p., Web. 15 Nov
Norton, Ben. “Neruda’s “El Gran Mantel” (“The Great Tablecloth”).” Ben Norton. Ben Norton, 30 Oct Web. 15 Nov
“Pablo Neruda.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, Web. 15 Nov
“Pablo Neruda.” Poets. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 15 Nov
“Pablo Neruda.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, Web. 15 Nov
Errybody