The Guitar

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2002

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“The Guitar” is a free-verse poem with no discernible rhyme scheme or rhythmic pattern. It takes the form of one long stanza with fairly short lines, one to five words per line, suggesting one musical episode with distinct moments and variations. Each phrase—sometimes, though not always, a complete sentence— ends with a period along with capitalization that initiates the next thought or phrase. “Oh, guitar!” (Line 25) features an exclamation point rather than a period to showcase a more potent declaration of emotion toward the end of the poem. The lines with only one word punctuate that word’s impact, such as “useless” (Line 7) and “impossible” (Line 9), which refer to the intensity of the guitar’s weeping sounds. While there is no specific rhythmic structure, the use of alliteration adds to the musicality of the poem, including “water weeps” and “wind weeps” (Line 12-13); the words that feel like a whisper to utter.

Personification

Lorca elevates the status of the guitar into a living, breathing entity with human characteristics. The main action of the guitar—its weeping—sets the tone for the guitar to be able to express dark, complex emotions. On the one hand, the poem showcases the strong musical qualities of the flamenco guitar and the emotions it can evoke in its listeners. On the other hand, the guitar’s personification showcases its similarities to a person suffering from real unfulfilled longing or lack of connection. Lorca gives the guitar human motivation for its weeping: “It weeps for distant/things” (Lines 17-18). The final level of personification comes at the end when Lorca directly addresses the guitar with “Oh, guitar!” (Line 25) as though he is concerned about its well-being. He further writes that the guitar is mortal and that its long expression of wailing comes to an end at the appearance of death: “Heart mortally wounded” (Line 26). This imagery brings to light not only the physical but also the emotional fragility of the instrument when it exposes its emotions for all to witness.

Repetition

Lorca repeats key lines and words throughout his poem. The most prominent lines include the act of weeping, especially the guitar’s weeping, and the impossibility of quieting it. At the top of the poem, Lorca repeats twice: “The weeping of the guitar/begins” (Lines 1-2). This is the main action of “The Guitar” that has reasons, consequences, and comparisons surrounding it which flesh out the rest of the poem. The complementary action that Lorca repeats thrice, with variations, is that it is “impossible/to silence it” (Lines 9-10), emphasizing the level of intensity of the crying. The magic number in literature has often been three, harkening back to ancient cultural and religious symbols, such as the Holy Trinity in Christianity, and the Chintamani, the sign of happiness in India. He also repeats structural patterns as shown by the following: “as water weeps/as the wind weeps” (Lines 12-13). This repetitive pattern not only brings out visual imagery but also the aural imagery and musicality of phrasing that is so integral to Lorca’s ode to the flamenco guitar.

Apostrophe

In Line 25, Lorca directly addresses the guitar to emotional effect, known as apostrophe. Toward the end of the poem is when Lorca chooses to address the guitar, which signals a change of action. The repetitive weeping of the guitar ends as the guitar faces its demise. The use of apostrophe further animates, or personifies, the guitar as a living entity to which the author inserts himself in the poem and offers his lament in the guitar’s final moment: “Oh, guitar!” (Line 25). The use of apostrophe can also signal an alert or warning to the guitar, letting it know that death, in the form “five swords,” is imminent (Line 27). The contrast between the guitar’s life and death, between living its purpose and not doing so, between sound and silence, finds a clear demarcation in the poem because of Lorca’s insertion of direct address.