What to say about this Maritime Ode? Without a doubt, the most powerful gust of a brilliant work. Fernando Pessoa, a master in poetic subtlety, in the ability to leave the meaning of his verses in the air, to stimulate infinite interpretations, to create a reflective, mystical, intriguing, and contradictory atmosphere, to meticulously represent the most diverse manifestations, makes his most vivid dimension burst out in this Maritime Ode, taking it to the extreme of euphoria. Structurally, a perfect dramatic construction, a progression whose climax is complete ecstasy and the ending returns to the initial reflective state, loading it with emotion. Technically, showy influence of Walt Whitman, in an almost exhaustion of images and triggers in order to fully engender the desired atmosphere. The poem grows and the reader shivers, feels his blood heat up, experiences adrenaline peaks. Very strong extremes, penetrating images in words that seem to stir on paper. How many works elicit a similar feeling? This Maritime Ode, a poem perhaps without equal in universal literature, is proof that the genius Fernando Pessoa is among the greatest artists of all time.
Maritime Ode, by Fernando Pessoa
