- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
As a president, Roosevelt is remembered for many things such as the "trust busting" Sherman Anti-trust act and also his extensive work in contributing to forest conservation in the US. Roosevelt thrust America into world politics when he aided the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War, and also when he administered what is known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
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Roosevelt with a
hunted lion |
The Monroe Doctrine, the work of James Monroe, fifth president of the United States, was somewhat of a "warning" to the French, British, Spanish and other world leaders that the United States of America is to be taken seriously. It also stated that the Western Hemisphere was soon to be ours, so they might as well not even try to colonize it, for we would surely win. At the time, the US was just a baby country, newly freed from British control and vying to be among the other top countries of the world; the Monroe Doctrine was a sort of formal declaration that the United States was a country now, not a colony, and not to be taken lightly. The Roosevelt Corollary reasserted this statement and even went so far as to say that US intervention in the southern colonies of the western hemisphere might be justified. This eventually led to the construction of the Panama Canal and a connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (a shortcut such as this was critical to more efficient trade). He's also known for his heroism as a Rough Rider during the Spanish-American War, and also for his post-presidency African safari. Teddy Roosevelt is remembered for being a tough, no-nonsense kind of man, and an avid hunter.
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| Ruben Dario |
Roosevelt believed that as the president, he was the "steward of the people" and should, therefore, do everything he possibly can for the good of the people, unless explicitly forbidden by the law. For this reason he is also known for expanding the use executive power. The US grew in regards to world power during his presidency and Teddy was not afraid to show the world that we mean business with his "Great White Fleet".
This did not sit well with everyone, as you can imagine. Take Rubin Dario, for example. The contemporary Spanish-language poet lived from 1867 to 1916 and is credited with being a leading figure of the Spanish-American
Modernismo movement. Though he wasn't very interested in politics, he was honored with a couple different position in the arena of world politics and is remembered for, among other things, his poem "To Roosevelt," which brought pride and unity to Spanish America:
To Roosevelt
The voice that would reach you, Hunter, must speak
in Biblical tones, or in the poetry of Walt Whitman.
You are primitive and modern, simple and complex;
you are one part George Washington and one part Nimrod. You are the United States
future invader of our naive America
with its Indian blood, an America
that still prays to Christ and still speaks Spanish.
You are a strong, proud model of your race;
you are cultured and able; you oppose Tolstoy.
You are an Alexander-Nebuchadnezzar,
breaking horses and murdering tigers.
(You are a Professor of Energy,
as the current lunatics say).
You think that life is a fire,
that progress is an irruption,
that the future i wherever
your bullet strikes.
No.
The United States is grand and powerful.
Whenever it trembles, a profound shudder
runs down the enormous backbone of the Andes.
If it shouts, the sound is like the roar of a lion.
And Hugo said to Grant: "The stars are yours."
(The dawning sun of the Argentine barely shines;
the star of Chile is rising...) A wealthy country,
joining the cult of Mammon to the cult of Hercules;
while Liberty, lighting the path
to easy conquest, raises her torch in New York.
But our own America, which has had poets
since the ancient times of Nezahualcoyotl;
whiche preserved the footprints of great Bacchus.
and learned the Panic alphabet once,
and consulted the stars; which also knew Atlantis
(whose name comes ringing down to us in Plato)
and has lived, since the earliest moments of its life,
in light, in fire, in fragrance, and in love--
the America of Moctezuma and Atahualpa,
the aromatic America of Columbus,
Catholic America, Spanish America,
the America where noble Cuauhtemoc said:
"I am not on a bed of roses"--our America,
trembling with hurricanes, trembling with Love;
O men with Saxon eyes and barbarous souls,
our America lives. And dreams. And loves.
And it is the daughter of the Sun. Be careful.
Long live Spanish America!
A thousand cubs of the spanish lion are roaming free.
Roosevelt, you must become, by God's own will,
the deadly Rifleman and the dreadful Hunter
before you can clutch us in your iron claws.
And though you have everything, you are lacking one thing:
God!
This poem says a lot. Dario compliments and insults the US and Roosevelt in the same sentence and still sounds eloquent and poetic. His poem also seems to say to the US that "his" America (Latin America) is stronger and better than ours and will not lay down and accept defeat. He recognizes that the United States is a powerful and grand nation, but he also knows that it is corrupt and wrong in it's use of power. He boasts of Latin America's extraordinary history when he mentions the Aztecs and the Incas, of their intelligence when he talks of Greek mythology and Plato, of their culture, rich with passion and religion, yet without sounding boastful.
One of the first things I noticed is Dario's brilliant juxtaposition throughout much of the poem. Dario is very talented in this and seems to pinpoint Roosevelt's personality and policies with amazing accuracy, making the images that much more vivid. My favorite contrast is in line four when Dario says Roosevelt is "one part George Washington and one part Nimrod..". This line is pure genius in my opinion. Dario compliments Roosevelt on his being a great leader and politician by comparing him to our nation's first president, but then sneaks in a little insult when he compares him to Nimrod. Nimrod is mentioned in the Bible as a "mighty hunter before God" in the Book of Genesis, and in the Books of Chronicles he is characterized by his foolish rebellion towards God. By telling Roosevelt he is part Nimrod, he cleverly alludes not only to Roosevelt being a hunter (which Dario seems to regard with disgust), but also accuses him of being without God, as he does again in the last line of the poem.
Another important point to make, I think, is the physical structure of the poem and how that adds to what Dario is trying to say. The beginning is separated into relatively short stanzas as he describes Roosevelt. After a strong "No," comes a very large and intimidating stanza with an stronger tone. You can almost see Dario's words putting Roosevelt in his place and simultaneously uplifting Latin Americans.
This poem stood out to me because, as he said, it's quite different from his usual modus operandi. "Tonight I Can Write..." is an indecisive poem of love lost. He seems to fight with his feelings and in the end concludes that he is indeed over the woman and will never again feel pain from her memory. In "Walking Around," Neruda talks of common objects like his feet, nails, and shadow, coffee pots, mirrors, and umbrellas. He uses nature metaphors to combat industrialism and seems to channel the Emerson and Thoreau inside of him. Though nature and feelings of love are present in "I'm Explaining a Few Things," the tones of the poems contrast sharply and he seems to get more serious.
