Broken Mirror: A Look into Octavio Paz's "Blanco"
Abstract
This essay examines one of Octavio Paz's major works: the prose poem "Blanco."
The essay juxtaposes several major analyses of "Blanco," and in doing so shows how
many critics have been misled by themselves, and Paz, into misreading the poem. The
critics thus far have argued that the typography and structure of "Blanco" are intended
to draw the reader toward the postmodern notion of Presence: undeniable, unmediated,
though ultimately ineffable perception of reality. Whereas they arrive at this conclusion
by gaining their insights from theorists who were influential to Paz, this essay differs
in that it applies Octavio Paz's own critical theories. In doing so, I argue that the critics
did not find this meaning, but rather that the critics have created it. By exploring the
naturally reflective typographic structures of "Blanco," I examine the ways in which
the text provides mirror images of who gazes into it: the reader.
Subject
Octavio Paz
Blanco
Nobel Prize
Poetry criticism
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/70963Citation
Volume VIII, December 2013, pp. 26 - 37