World Literature

Natacha Peguero

In “God Wills It” the poem describes how Gabriela Mistral will be destroyed if the man that she loves does not stay with her. She expresses that they are meant to be together and he will be unhappy without her. In the previous poem called “Ballad” it describes how Gabriela is in love with a man but unfortunately that man desires someone else who he kisses. She describes this in her poem “God Wills It” when she states “like a thief you will creep into the deepest corners of the earth to kiss her”. Gabriela is upset that the person she loves wants to be with someone else. Gabriela believes that another woman would never be as great as her and he will forever be haunted by Gabriela’s memory. In “God Wills It” she shows the impact she will have on this man by stating “And, yet when you lift her countenance you will find my tear stained face”… “My name will burst from your tongue”. This portrays that in her mind they have to be together rather than apart or everyone will suffer.

Gabriela is not the only one that believes that her lover has to stay but also the earth, the universe, and god. In the beginning of the poem “God Wills It” she repeats how earth suffers when they’re apart. “The earth will become a hateful stepmother” “Water will shudder at hint” “earth will spew forth serpents”. This is her plead and threat to convince him to stay because the world will no longer be perfect. Since they do not have children “desolate knees that rock no child” or anything else that can sway him to stay, having a higher being may be able to convince him. Also describing her knees as desolated helps her gain guilt from the lover that no longer wants her because she weak and in pain. She also uses God to persuade him. “God will not want the sun to shine on you, if you do not walk with me. God will not let you drink waters, that do not reflect my face. God will not let you sleep etc.…”. She will suffer, the earth will suffer, and god will punish him for being with another woman.

Gabriela moves sporadically with examples of her pain and his pain throughout the poem. Some of the meaning gets lost in translation when simplified due to not being to understand her message. The intensity of what she feels is being reduce making harder for people to understand her misery. She is extremely desperate to get her lover back. One literally technique that proves this is symbolism of the earth and its destruction. She also uses strong repetition of the word God to shows how the sprits of the world needs to make her relationship work.  The symbolism is  lost when you simplify the poem.