Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market

Odes are poems of dedication, meaning the poet treats the subject of the poem with reverence. Often, the poet personifies the object in an attempt to connect the reader with the object the same sort of way they would connect with a person. Sometimes, the poet gives the object almost mystical powers of inspiration, beauty, life, and meaning.

Neruda does all of these in “Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market.” His treatment of the tuna is similar to how a religious person might react in the presence of a religious symbol or artifact. Neruda first does this is by giving the fish power. He compares the fish to a torpedo, a missile, a bullet, an arrow, a javelin, a harpoon, a man of war, a well-oiled ship, and a machine. These comparisons offer the fish more power than it actually has—or had, in life—but similar to other odes like John Keats’s “Ode to a Grecian Urn” and “Ode to a Nightingale,” Neruda’s ode uses hyperbole to add intensity to the moment and grandeur to the subject. This is necessary for the poet to truly express what the seemingly mundane object means to them.

But the tuna is not the only significant item in the poem. Neruda also creates explicit contrast between the land and the sea. He presents the sea in a romantic way, invoking the sublime in his descriptions of it. The sea is dark, mysterious, unknowable, grand, and full of danger and intrigue. In the sea, there is movement (exemplified by the tuna), and the reader can imagine a vast kingdom of strange creatures, sights, and sensations under the water.

This almost mythological sea contrasts with the land, which is full of nothing but stagnant death. On land, even the magnanimous, agile, powerful tuna is lifeless and powerless. The romance of the natural sea turns into static nothingness on land, which is dominated by humans and the market.

The speaker’s approach to this contrast makes him seem almost like a child and an adult at once. He pictures the tuna zipping through the sea the way a child might imagine a superhero flying through the sky. Yet he also views the dead tuna on land with the same kind of cold realism of a weathered adult. This is one of the many contrasts Neruda uses throughout the poem to add power to his themes and imagery.

There are a number of ways a reader can view the various aspects of this poem. On the surface, the poem is about the awesome power of a natural object and a reflection on the cycle of life and death. However, when coupled with Neruda’s political ideology and the numerous poems he wrote about common objects, a reader can find a political message in the poem. The focus on the power of the natural world’s liveliness and power signifies a positive association with nature; meanwhile, death arrives in the form of capital. The dead tuna exists for commodification and consumption. The commodification of the natural world leads the speaker to unwillingly detach from the energy of nature and identify with the coldness of a capitalist system bent on exploiting nature and its many offerings.

Another way to view the personified fish is as a person existing within a capitalist system. The fish, when free from the shackles of society and in its natural state, has energy and intrigue. But when the fish succumbs to the market, it becomes a lifeless thing.

A Marxist reading of the poem makes sense, especially when considering this movement in the last stanza:

in the whole market

yours  

was the only shape left

with purpose or direction

in this  

jumbled ruin

of nature (Lines 64-71).

The market is unnatural. It is a jumbled ruin of nature. Even the final lines of the poem remind readers of this, as the fish in water is a true machine, but the dead fish navigates only the waters of death. The need to consume and profit has killed what was once a heroic example of nature’s power and grace.

Finally, it is also possible to read the poem as a reflection on death. The speaker sees how death has so easily taken what was once a being of immense strength. In the speaker’s observations of death, there is a cold acknowledgement of the reality that death will come to all—even himself. In this sense, the poem becomes a sad reflection on reality.

Regardless of the interpretation a reader chooses, the poet leaves no room for interpretation when it comes to how he feels about the fish. He admires it. He laments its death. He finds strength and beauty in the very existence of the fish. Even the poem’s structure mimics the tuna’s swift movements as the lines are short—often comprised of only a single word—and zigzag left and right on the page. The poem, though long, reads quickly, just as the large tuna rapidly moves through the water.

This glorification of the subject falls in line with the tradition of odes, and the existence of a deeper meaning signified through the object itself also falls in line with the traditional poetic form. This guide discusses the ode as a form below.