Introduction: “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
“Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral was first published in 1922 in her groundbreaking collection, Desolación. This poem embodies the key themes of Mistral’s work: yearning for connection, a deep empathy for the vulnerable, and the beauty found in simple, natural imagery. Mistral uses a childlike tone to emphasize the purity of the speaker’s desire for love and joyful companionship. The poem’s repetitive structure creates a song-like rhythm, and its imagery – flowers, dancing, grass – speaks to a longing for both human connection and harmony with the natural world.
Text: “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
Give me your hand and give me your love,
give me your hand and dance with me.
A single flower, and nothing more,
a single flower is all we’ll be.
Keeping time in the dance together,
singing the tune together with me,
grass in the wind, and nothing more,
grass in the wind is all we’ll be.
I’m called Hope and you’re called Rose:
but losing our names we’ll both go free,
a dance on the hills, and nothing more,
a dance on the hills is all we’ll be.
Annotations: “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
| Line | Annotation |
| Give me your hand and give me your love, | A plea for connection, both physical (hand) and emotional (love). |
| Give me your hand and dance with me. | An invitation to a shared experience, a dance symbolizing joy and unity. |
| A single flower, and nothing more, | A metaphor for the simplicity and fragility of their potential bond. |
| A single flower is all we’ll be. | A possible acknowledgment of the fleeting nature of love or connection. |
| Keeping time in the dance together, | Emphasizes the harmony and synchronization of their movement. |
| Singing the tune together with me, | Extends the connection to include shared voices and a common rhythm. |
| Grass in the wind, and nothing more, | Natural imagery to reinforce the transient, yet beautiful, nature of their bond. |
| Grass in the wind is all we’ll be. | A reiteration of the idea that their connection, though precious, may be temporary. |
| I’m called Hope and you’re called Rose: | Introduces personal names, yet also suggests symbolic identities. |
| But losing our names we’ll both go free, | They can transcend individual identities and become something more universal. |
| A dance on the hills, and nothing more, | The setting emphasizes elevation and expansiveness, a sense of freedom. |
| A dance on the hills is all we’ll be. | Final affirmation of existence solely in the moment of shared experience. |
Key Themes:
- Connection and Companionship: The speaker desires deep connection with another person.
- Ephemerality: Acknowledges the potential fleetingness of love, beauty, and existence itself.
- Transformation: The act of letting go of individual names symbolizes transcending personal identities into something more unified.
- Joy in the Present: Importance of embracing the simple joy of shared experience, even if brief.
Literary And Poetic Devices: “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
| Literary/Poetic Device | Example from the Poem | Explanation |
| Allegory | Can be applied to the whole poem | The poem could be read as an allegory about the fleeting, beautiful nature of human connection and the importance of finding joy in the present. |
| Alliteration | “Grass in the wind…” | The repetition of the “g” and “w” sounds creates a soft, flowing effect. |
| Anaphora | “Give me your hand…”, “A single flower…”, “Grass in the wind…”, “A dance on the hills…” | The repeated phrases emphasize yearning and create rhythm and structure. |
| Enjambment | “…and dance with me. / A single flower…” | Lines flow into each other, creating a sense of continuity and reflecting the continuous movement of the dance. |
| Imagery | “A single flower…”, “grass in the wind”, “a dance on the hills” | Appeals to the senses, creating vivid mental pictures and adding depth. |
| Metaphor | “A single flower…is all we’ll be” | Compares the potential relationship to a flower, emphasizing delicacy and potential transience. |
| Metonymy | “Hope”, “Rose” | Uses names to stand in for larger symbolic concepts (hope for the future, the beauty of love). |
| Mood | Evokes a sense of tenderness, yearning, and a touch of melancholy. | |
| Personification | “Keeping time in the dance together, / singing the tune together with me…” | Attributing human qualities to the dance/music emphasizes their shared experience. |
| Repetition | “…and nothing more”, “…is all we’ll be” | Emphasizes the central theme of a simple, perhaps fleeting connection. |
| Rhythm | Created through repetition and line length | Contributes to the poem’s musicality and dance-like feel. |
| Simile | “Keeping time in the dance together, / singing the tune together with me, / grass in the wind…” | Compares their unity to the natural, harmonious movement of grass in the wind. |
| Symbolism | “Flower”, “grass”, “dance”, “hills” | Represent beauty, fragility, shared joy, freedom, and the expansiveness of the present moment. |
| Synecdoche | “Give me your hand…” | Using a part (hand) to represent the whole (the person and their love). |
| Tone | Pleading, tender, with a hint of wistful acceptance. |
Themes: “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
1. The Desire for Deep Connection
- Example: “Give me your hand and give me your love, / give me your hand and dance with me.”
- Explanation: The poem opens with a direct plea for both physical touch and emotional intimacy. This longing for connection underscores the entire poem.
2. The Ephemerality of Beauty and Existence
- Example: “A single flower, and nothing more, / a single flower is all we’ll be.”
- Explanation: The imagery of the flower and the grass emphasizes the fragile, short-lived nature of beauty and potentially highlights the fleetingness of their bond.
3. Transcendence through Shared Experience
- Example: “But losing our names we’ll both go free, / a dance on the hills, and nothing more”
- Explanation: Letting go of individual identities (“Hope” and “Rose”) symbolizes moving beyond the limitations of the self into a more universal state of pure being, represented by the natural imagery of the dance on the hills.
4. Embracing the Present Moment
- Example: The focus on the dance itself – keeping time, singing together
- Explanation: Despite the undercurrent of impermanence, the poem celebrates the shared experience of the dance. Living fully in the moment becomes a way to embrace the joy and beauty of existence, however brief.
Literary Theories and “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
| Literary Theory | Approach | Example from the Poem | Potential Interpretation |
| Feminist | Focuses on gender representations, power dynamics, female experience | The speaker’s agency in inviting another into connection. The use of traditional feminine symbols (flower, Rose). | Exploration of female desire, potential subversion of gender roles, connection between women. |
| Formalist (New Criticism) | Close reading of the text, emphasis on form, language, and internal structure. | The poem’s use of repetition, imagery, rhythm, and its overall structure. | Analysis of how the form contributes to the poem’s meaning and emotional impact. |
| Biographical | Examines how the author’s life experiences might be reflected in the work. | Mistral’s own experiences with love, loss, and longing. | Links between the poem’s themes and potential events or emotions in the poet’s life. |
| Psychoanalytic | Unconscious desires, motivations, symbolism. | The dance as a symbol of intimacy or union. The focus on touch and hands could have deeper psychological significance. | Explore the poem as expressing subconscious wishes or fears around connection. |
| Reader-Response | Emphasizes the reader’s active role in constructing meaning. | Different readers may have varied interpretations of the ending and the poem’s overarching message. | Consider how individual experiences of love, loss, or joy may shape the reader’s understanding of the poem. |
Critical Questions about “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
Topic 1: The Nature of Connection
- Critical Question: How does Mistral explore the longing for connection versus the acceptance of its potential transience?
- Thesis Statement: In “Give Me Your Hand,” Gabriela Mistral creates a complex portrayal of human connection, highlighting the tension between a deep yearning for intimacy and the simultaneous recognition of its ephemeral nature.
Topic 2: Symbolism and Meaning
- Critical Question: How do the symbols of nature (flower, grass, hills) contribute to the poem’s overall meaning?
- Thesis Statement: Gabriela Mistral’s use of natural imagery in “Give Me Your Hand” reinforces the themes of impermanence and transcendence, emphasizing the beauty and significance of fleeting moments of connection within the vastness of existence.
Topic 3: Feminine Voice and Desire
- Critical Question: Does the speaker’s direct expression of longing challenge traditional female roles within poetry?
- Thesis Statement: “Give Me Your Hand” subverts expectations of passive female desire, with the speaker boldly asserting her longing for both physical and emotional connection, giving the poem a distinctly feminist undercurrent.
Topic 4: The Role of Form and Structure
- Critical Question: How does the poem’s use of repetition, line lengths, and rhythm shape the reader’s experience?
- Thesis Statement: Gabriela Mistral’s careful structuring of “Give Me Your Hand,” including the use of repetition and short evocative lines, enhances the poem’s themes by creating a feeling of both urgency and a dance-like rhythm.
Literary Works Similar to “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
Poets of Latin American Modernism:
- Mistral was part of this literary movement. Explore other poets from the same period like Delmira Agustini (Uruguay) and Alfonsina Storni (Argentina), known for their exploration of female desire, connection, and themes of impermanence.
- Sonnet Traditions: While Mistral’s poem is not a formal sonnet, its exploration of love’s fleeting nature echoes poets like Edna St. Vincent Millay and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, whose sonnets grapple with similar themes.
- Imagist Poets: The Imagist movement focused on precise, evocative language and often drew inspiration from nature. Poets like H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) share Mistral’s use of simple yet powerful natural imagery to illuminate emotional states.
- Contemporary Voices: Seek out modern poets like Mary Oliver and Ada Limón, whose works explore the beauty and fragility of the natural world, reflecting on connection, loss, and the significance of the present moment.
Specific Connections to Consider:
- Symbolism: Examine how other poets use similar natural symbols (flowers, grass, hills) to represent emotional states, beauty, and the passage of time.
- Voice and Perspective: Look for poets who adopt a similarly direct and yearning voice, whether expressing a longing for connection, a fear of loss, or a bittersweet acceptance of impermanence.
- Tone and Mood: Identify poems with a similar emotional atmosphere – tender, melancholic, yet still infused with a sense of appreciation for fleeting beauty and shared experiences.
Suggested Readings: “Give Me Your Hand” by Gabriela Mistral
Book:
- Agosin, Marjorie. Gabriela Mistral: The Audacious Traveler. Ohio University Press, 2009.
Anthology Chapter:
- Mistral, Gabriela. “Give Me Your Hand.” Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin. Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology, edited by Willis Barnstone, University of Texas Press, 2011, pp. 142-143.
Journal Article
- Gómez-Gil, Orlando. “Gabriela Mistral: The Substance of Simplicity.” Hispania, vol. 41, no. 4, 1958, pp. 495-499. JSTOR, [invalid URL removed]
Website:
- Thompson, Dan. “Give Me Your Hand by Gabriela Mistral.” Poem Analysis, https://poemanalysis.com/gabriela-mistral. Accessed 6 April 2024.
