What's it all about, Shmoopers? What does it mean to have consciousness? What does it mean to exist? What does it mean to see the world, and then what about the world are we not seeing? These are big questions, gang, the kind that keep philosophers employed (if not gainfully). They're also the kinds of questions that the speaker in "Poem III" of The Book of Questions is lobbing our way. It's too bad that none of them are multiple choice, but then again, we wouldn't have much to talk (or think) about if they were.
Questions About Life, Consciousness, and Existence
- Apart from our speaker, what other kinds of consciousness are represented in this poem?
- Does this poem privilege one consciousness over another? How can you tell?
- Why does this poem use so much personification?
Chew on This
This poem shows us that everything in the world has a consciousness. You just have to be properly attuned to it.
The only real consciousness in this poem belongs to Neruda. The rest of the poem is just an exercise of his imagination.