Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines

In “Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines,” the speaker, presumably representing the author, explores feelings in the aftermath of a love affair, declaring that they indeed “can write the saddest lines” (Line 1). The speaker blames their sadness on the loss of a romantic love, but the imagery and repetition of phrases indicate that the speaker is not only sad over the loss of a relationship but also tormented by the mysterious, unpredictable, almost uncontrollable nature of love itself—the way memory of a love can torment a person after the relationship is over.

The poem is the second to last poem in Pablo Neruda’s collection Twenty Songs of Love and a Song of Despair. Each poem is equated to a song. Songs, by form, are traditionally repetitive, using lyrics and a refrain that emphasize a feeling. Unlike narrative poems, a lyrical poem or song doesn’t necessarily move action forward to a clear conclusion but can instead dwell on a theme, circling back and saying the same thing over and over again.

This mimics the way obsession plays out in the mind. A person in love, specifically the speaker of this poem, may go over the same ideas, memories, and feelings on a loop, circling an emotion without a clear way forward.