“Silence is music”. Suspension of the word and poetics of the sacred in Octavio Paz

Authors

  • Paul-Henri GIRAUD Université de Lille

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15174/rv.v13i28.604

Abstract

Often, in Paz, the poetic process itself and the experience of fullness to which it leads are described in quasi-religious terms, as a path of initiation that leads to a kind of ecstasy. This article aims to investigate the relationship between the poetic word and the sacred in the work of the Mexican poet, adhering more particularly to the notion of silence. It was during the years of his longest stay in India, as ambassador to Mexico, between 1962 and 1968, that Paz made silence the “culmination” of the word, giving it a sacred aura. But echoes of such a conception can be found in the final stage of his writing, and even in his last poem.

Author Biography

Paul-Henri GIRAUD, Université de Lille

Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Lille and member of the Centre d'études en civilisations, langues et lettres étrangères (CECILLE), Paul-Henri Giraud (1968) specialises in the poetry and visual arts of Mexico in contemporary times. He is the author of Octavio Paz: Hacia la transparencia (2nd ed., Mexico, El Colegio de México, 2014) and Manuel Álvarez Bravo. L’impalpable et l’imaginaire (Paris, La Martinière, 2012). A Life Fellow of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, he is currently Secretary General of the Institut des Amériques.

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Published

2021-06-08

How to Cite

GIRAUD, P.-H. (2021). “Silence is music”. Suspension of the word and poetics of the sacred in Octavio Paz. Valenciana, 13(28), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.15174/rv.v13i28.604

Issue

No. 28 (2021): Valenciana 28 julio-diciembre 2021

Section

Dossier

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