Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market

“Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market” (1954) is an ode by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. One of Neruda’s many odes to common things, the poem glorifies and personifies a piece of fish. Neruda wrote many odes about everyday items, and “Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market” is one of these. While the poem was originally written in Spanish, this guide will utilize a 2007 English translation by Robin Robertson.

“Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market” features an unnamed speaker who walks through a market and comments on the body of a dead tuna for sale in the market. The poem gives new life and mystery to the tuna’s dead body, as it glorifies and almost deifies the tuna’s very existence. Most of the poem focuses on the tuna’s qualities while alive, and Neruda describes the fish in an almost mythological way, comparing it to various weapons of the sea and other creatures.

Through the use of the ode, Neruda speaks to the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual significance of the tuna; in a larger sense, he comments on the grandeur of the natural world while also noting on the cycle of life and

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