Pablo Neruda’s, “Ode to a Chestnut on the Ground,” abstractly showcases the commonplace and insignificant transition from adolescence into adulthood through the use of contrasting diction and a surplus of figurative language. Throughout this poem - of which is a part of Neruda’s, “Odas elementales,” poetry collection - the speaker reflects on and cherishes a chestnut that has fallen from its tree and is now lying on the ground. Yet, it is specifically through the speaker’s usage of diction that the reader can decipher that this chestnut is intended to represent an enthusiastic adolescent, of which is beginning to reach adulthood. The chestnut’s portrayal of an eager adolescent can be detected within the lines, “ unblemished delight and
