The interpretations of the two selected poems are very similar. In brief, the two poems represent love, and Mario Benedetti uses a vast form of figures of speech to represent the constant occurrence of theme, primarily symbolism and metaphors. I absolutely love the title of “Tactic and Strategy.” At first glance, it makes me think of a battle plan an admiral is writing down in hopes of invading a village or a country. It is rather humorous, the poem being about love, that Mario Benedetti decided to compare it to the ways of war. As most of us are familiar with the infamous saying “All is fair in love and war,” it comes to no surprise that love is often compared to a battle, there are always strategies and tactics an individual must possess in order to keep that spark alive. The title “Little Stones at My Window,” first gives me an impression of a hopeless romantic literally throwing small pebbles at a girl’s bedroom window, silently hoping that her father won’t wake up. Even before dwelling deep into the verses of the poems, the titles provide good evidence that love will be represented in the poems. It is once the reader starts to examine the verses in the poems that the use of similes and metaphors helps represent the theme of love.

 

Metaphors are a figure of speech that is used in vast amount of times throughout both poems. It provides the reader a deeper meaning of the theme and the subject being represented in the poem. In “Tactic and Strategy”, Mario Benedetti uses the figure of speech in the lines of “to build with words an indestructible bridge”. By using a metaphor in this verse, it provides the reader a better sense of the importance that Mario puts on the words that are shared and exchanged between two lovers. In “Little Stones at My Window”, the use of metaphors can be analyzed by the verse “I’m going to keep my anxiety locked up.” In brief, unlike in “Tactic and Strategy,” Mario seems to touch the surface about the pain and the horror of living in exile, as evident in the verse “Who knows where I’ll be next or when my story will be taken into account”. These verses reveal to me that the image of his wife is keeping him sane and something to look forward to. The constant reminder, as portrayed by “Joy throws little stones at my window,” reveal that Mario’s love for his wife is always there, repeatedly reminding him about his home in Uruguay while living in exile. Whilst using the appropriate metaphors in his poems, Benedetti is able to appeal directly to his readers, focusing on their senses and provoking their imaginations in what they are reading.