Octavio Paz Summary

The Mexican diplomat, playwright, and essayist, Octavio Paz (1914-1998) was internationally regarded as one of the principal poets of the twentieth century. His work was formally recognized in 1990 wh... Read more

"Desde mi adolescencia he escrito poemas y no he cesado de escribirlos. Quise ser poeta y nada más. En mis libros de prosa me propuse servir a la poesía, justificarla y defenderla, expli... Read more

In the following essay, Wilson offers a biographical and critical overview of Paz and his works, focusing mainly on the phase of his career from 1931 through the early 1940s. Octavio Paz was born i... Read more

In the following excerpt, McClatchy reviews The Collected Poems of Octavio Paz, 1957-1987. In the prologue to his magisterial study of Sor Juana, as part of a meditation on “the system of im... Read more

In the following essay, Zubizarreta explores thematic and aesthetic similarities among Paz and poets Wallace Stevens and Rubén Darío. In Children of the Mire, Octavio Paz states that ... Read more

In the following essay, Kushigian explores ways in which Paz uses language, imagery, and subject matter to depict his philosophy of the mutuality and intersection of Eastern and Western culture and ph... Read more

In the following essay, Khan discusses cosmopolitan and multicultural influences on Paz's poetry. (1) In their study of Kafka, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari raise a set of interre... Read more

In the following essay, Santí offers an overview of Paz's career and works. In choosing Octavio Paz to receive the Nobel Prize in 1990, the Swedish Academy pointed particularly to Paz... Read more

In the following essay, Rader offers a comparison of the works of Paz with those of American poet Wallace Stevens. La poesía,         ... Read more

In the following essay, Durán shares personal memories and a summarization of the life and work of Paz, following the death of the poet in 1998. I first met Octavio Paz in Paris, in 1951. I ... Read more

In the following essay Hirsch offers an overview of theme and use of language in Paz's poetry. Octavio Paz practiced poetry like a secret religion. He dwelt in its mysteries, he invoked its ... Read more

Critical Essay by Donald Sutherland In spite of being a "world" poet, as glossily cosmopolitan as they come, [Octavio Paz] remains programmatically Mexican, not to say pre-Columbian; an... Read more

Critical Essay by Raymond D. Souza [The] sense of motion created by "Exclamación" and "Juventud" … is a key to the dynamic process of both poems. However, ne... Read more

Critical Essay by Arthur Terry Though [Paz's] account of modern poetry is deliberately selective [in Children of the Mire], there are many passages which a more systematic historian of literat... Read more

Critical Essay by Jason Wilson [Octavio Paz] is a poet whose reading of surrealism enabled him to revalue and affirm the role of poetry in the twentieth century in terms of a liberating, quasi-religi... Read more

Critical Essay by Nereo E. Condini In this anthology of Octavio Paz's works [A Draft of Shadows],… the impression we receive initially is that of a Mexican poet exposed for the first ti... Read more

[In the following review, Jamison comments on the changes in Paz's responses to Sade's literary legacy in An Erotic Beyond.] The works of the Marquis de Sade arouse strong passions&#x... Read more

[In the following obituary, Sheridan and Randolph assess Paz's place in Mexican literature and culture.] From government leaders and billionaire businessmen to jeans-clad students and worker... Read more

[In the following review, Herrera outlines the substance and style of Essays on Mexican Art, focusing on the poetic instinct that seems to inform Paz's aesthetic taste.] Though arranged chro... Read more

[Stavans is a novelist and critic. In the following review, he examines Paz's treatment of love in The Double Flame, admiring its thematic breadth and depth.) At 81, Octavio Paz is incredibl... Read more

[In the following review, Hopkinson traces the thematic origins of The Double Flame.] It is tempting, hut incorrectly dismissive, to bunch this book [The Double Flame] with Carlos Fuentes' r... Read more

[Galhraith is an author and professor of economics emeritus at Harvard University. In the following review, Galbraith reveals the thematic arrangement of In Light of India.] Some 30-odd years ago, ... Read more

[In the following obituary, Barnes describes the literary and cultural significance of Paz's writings as well as the milestones of his life.] Octavio Paz, 84, the Mexican writer and Nobel la... Read more