Course Title: Global Poetry

Course Code: ELL-301

Submitted To: Mam Samina Noreen
Group Members: Laraib Fatima (14) & Hida Saher Akbar (38)

Critical Appreciation of “As One Listens to the Rain” by Octavio Paz

Octavio Paz Lozano was born in Mexico City on March 31st 1914.He was a Mexican diplomat
and critically acclaimed poet and essayist. He was exposed early to literature through his
grandfather’s extensive library. As a teenager in 1931 he published his first poems, being
influenced by Spanish writers. He won the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1981, the Neustadt
International Prize for Literature in 1982, and Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.He had a
special interest in examining the dual identity of Mexicans. One of his best-known works was El
laberinto de la soledad, which appeared first in 1950 and in English translation as The
Labyrinth of Solitude, is a comprehensive portrait of Mexican society. He died on April 19th
1998 at 84 years old. His death was announced by no less than the president of Mexico, Ernesto
Zedillo. “This is an irreplaceable loss for contemporary thought and culture—not just for
Latin America but for the entire world”.
Octavio Paz is a poet of the tradition of the old and the tradition of the new. He brings forward
the heritage of medieval and seventeen-century Spain, of nineteenth-century France and of
Nahuatl poetry of Mexico, to express a fundamentally twentieth-century sensibility.
Themes in his writings include identity, love, eroticism and nature of time. He adopted a “frigid
and unflowing” style often associated with post modern poems.

Introduction
The speaker talks in first person and seems to be human when he mentions simple things such
as, “entering my forehead” and “all five senses awake” and compares himself to rain, to
“listen to me as one listens to the rain.” In my opinion he seems to talking to a loved/female
character seen by the words choice, such as “you are you and your body of steam, you and
your face of night, you and your hair, unhurried lightning.” By experience when you hear the
rain you acknowledge it and you know it’s there without needing to focus or see it, which is what
I believe the author is trying to get through from the poem; however at the end of the poem the
speaker is teary as he repeats to “listen to me as one listens to the rain.

Critical Appreciation
Listen to me as one listens to the rain,
not attentive, not distracted,
light footsteps, thin drizzle,
water that is air, air that is time,
the day is still leaving,
the night has yet to arrive,
figurations of mist
at the turn of the corner,
figurations of time
at the bend in this pause.
The speaker of the poem is someone who is very observant of nature. The speaker has a high
admiration for nature, and describes in great detail throughout the poem. The speaker is talking
to someone that has a close relationship with the speaker, like a friend for example. He speaks in
the first person as if he was talking to another person. The poet wishes to be heard – if not
attentively, at least by not being distracted.
“Listen to me as one listens to the rain,
not attentive, not distracted,
light footsteps, thin drizzle,…”
This quote uses imagery to describe how the speaker wants to be listened to. He uses the sense of
hearing to formulate a picture that we can envision. This impacts the poem by adding emphasis
to the senses to describe a vision of nature. Perhaps by “light footsteps & thin drizzle” he is
alluding to the little mark we leave upon this world; and by “air that is time” to the “brevity of
life.” Whatever the reader’s interpretations might be, one aspect to be noted is that, “the day is
still leaving, the night is yet to come.” Thus one might infer that the setting in which the poem
begins is dusk.
listen to me as one listens to the rain,
without listening, hear what I say
with eyes open inward, asleep
with all five senses awake,
it’s raining, light footsteps, a murmur of syllables,
air and water, words with no weight:
what we are and are,
the days and years, this moment,
weightless time and heavy sorrow,
The poet gets a little esoteric at this point. He has tried to elicit ideas stated originally in
metaphysical domains of study. “Asleep with all the five senses awake” seems to refer to a
mental state that has been a subject of philosophical inquiry for centuries. By saying “without
listening, hear what I say,” perhaps the poet only requires the one to whom he is talking, to be
aware of what he’s saying. He compares rain to light footsteps, “it’s raining, light footsteps”
giving the poem a lighter touch and comparing himself to something soft, since he compares
himself to the rain.
listen to me as one listens to the rain,
wet asphalt is shining,
steam rises and walks away,
night unfolds and looks at me,
you and you and your body of steam,
you and your face of night,
you and your hair, unhurried lightning,
you cross the street and enter my forehead,
footsteps of water across my eyes,
Asphalt is a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel, used for surfacing roads,
flooring and roofing, coatings, soundproofing, waterproofing, and other building-construction
elements and in a number of industrial products, such as batteries. Finally, “night unfolds” and
the setting shifts to night-time. One possible interpretation of “steam rises and walks away”
might be that it refers to the earthy aroma that rises after the rain; but for some reason it fades
away and night unfolds. It is in this stanza that the poet begins to shed light on the person to
whom the he is talking to. The speaker talks very stern and even demanding to his “friend.” This
sense of demanding comes through how the speaker repeats lots of words throughout his stanzas:
“You are you and your body of steam, you and your face of night, you and your hair,
unhurried lightning.” A friend doesn’t really constantly nag someone. Therefore, another
option to the speakers relationship towards his subject, is that he is an authority figure. A leader
who wants to make a point and be admired. Some have interpreted this whole poem as being
addressed to a woman he loves, or to a dear friend. And the “footsteps of water” also
interpreted as tears, and “entering the forehead” is read as reminiscing. “steam rises and walks
away, night unfolds and looks at me” this part of the poem compares steam going away as a
human and night appearing as if in look for him. The metaphors go along with the contradiction
pattern, how the speaker is rain and how other elements of nature are human alike in a way.
listen to me as one listens to the rain
the asphalt’s shining, you cross the street,
it is the mist, wandering in the night,
it is the night, asleep in your bed,
it is the surge of waves in your breath,
your fingers of water dampen my forehead,
your fingers of flame burn my eyes,
your fingers of air open eyelids of time,
a spring of visions and resurrections,
The story of the poem is the speaker describing beautiful things in nature to another person. He
uses imagery so the person can visualize the things that he saw in nature. And “your fingers of
air open the eyelids of time” indicates that the poet is indeed reminiscing about the past. Thus a
more plausible explanation might be that all this refers to a person, whom he might have dearly
loved, but who now seems to evoke a sense of ache, pain or sorrow within him. This is further
supported by the last line of the second stanza where he talks about, “weightless time and heavy
sorrow.”“…your fingers of water dampen my forehead,…” This quote uses personification
to compare the hands of a person to nature. This impacts the poems by showing the reader how
close the speaker relates to nature and how he describes his relationship with it as that with a
person. Repetition is a commonly used literary device in this work. The speaker repeats multiple
parts of the narrative. For example, when he says: “ Listen to me as one listens to the rain”. Or
when he is referring to how the rain hits the asphalt , or describing lightening as he described in
the story. The speaker also repeats the start of a sentence multiple times in a section. This use of
repetition can convey the speaker trying to emphasize his point and his description. He is trying
to capture the reader’s attention, and keeps it to tell his perspective of nature and may be
repetition emphasizes the theme of the poem. In the repetition of describing the person’s fingers,
there is imagery of how “your fingers of flame burn my eyes”. This imagery appeals to the
sight, and so does the other imagery during the repetition of “your fingers.” The speaker seems
to admire the person who he is talking to. He wants their attention and their presence with him.
And it is also interesting that the poet did not split the poem into stanzas. Instead it’s just a
constant flow of ideas.
listen to me as one listens to the rain,
the years go by, the moments return,
do you hear the footsteps in the next room?
not here, not there: you hear them
in another time that is now,
listen to the footsteps of time,
inventor of places with no weight, nowhere,
listen to the rain running over the terrace,
the night is now more night in the grove,
lightning has nestled among the leaves,
a restless garden adrift-go in,
your shadow covers this page.
In this stanza alone, the poet has asked the person to hear or listen almost 5 times. Now the
“years have gone by” and in recalling such moments, it is almost as if one could “hear the
footsteps in the next room.” So having “listened to the footsteps of time” he still finds that
these thoughts cast strange shadows over his face, perhaps a tinge of melancholy. But the
mystery behind these nebulous impressions, remains locked in his poem and secured within his
heart.
“…listen to the rain running over the terrace,
The night is now more night in the grove,
Lightning has nestled among the leaves,…”
This quote uses imagery to describe a scene that has a major factor of nature involved. The
speaker uses sound to describe something that you could envision as well. This impacts the poem
by showing that by having this strong of connection with his surroundings, he can easily describe
it to others, so they can share the experience with him.

Conclusion
The tone of the poem is very peaceful. It is calming and serene in feeling. It relaxes the reader,
while the speaker describes his view of nature. Maybe that was on purpose, as many people see
the rain as calm and the narrator says in the very first line: “listen to me as one listen to the
rain.” The speaker wants to be admired and make others feel calm, like the rain. This poem also
has a tranquil tone, but may be the tone reflects how the speaker is begging the person or friend
to listen to him. The poem contends a lot of imagery such as “ eyes open inward”, “ wet asphalt
is shining, steam rises and walks away, night unfolds and looks at me” most of the imagery
contradicts with itself, which makes the poem a bit more complicated, but gets the message
straight to the point. The repetition of the quote “ listen to me as one listens to the rain” it gives
the poem a stronger tone, sort of in a begging, wanting or in lust, but gets lighter and in a
admiring or compassionate feel when the speaker begins to describe the loved one. Until he
asks/pleads one last time to “listen to me as one listens to the rain” and ends with him in
discontent and in tears. The numerous alliterations also keeps us attentive and makes sure that we
know the meaning of what is being said. One of the tonal effects that the alliteration in this poem
is how it almost seems like a silent whisper that is being said to us as if we were listening to this
poem as one listens to rain. The alliteration also keeps us attentive and makes sure we know the
meaning of what is being said.
References
 http://english2worldpoetry.blofspot.com/2016/03/octavio-paz-as-one-listens-to-
rain_23.html?m=1
 http://scribbleminds.blogspot.com/2017/12/as-one-listens-to-rain.html?m=1
 https://prezi.com/p/s7kz25bjklkg/as-one-listens-to-the-rain/