Discuss the use of visceral imagery in Pablo Neruda's Standard Oil Company

Neruda creates a hostile atmosphere; through the use of visceral imagery, present when describing the drill to be an "implacable intestine"[1]. The drill is portrayed to be monstrous as the quotation connotes the drill to have an unforgiving nature. This creates tension, and thus fear, by introducing the tool of the oil company in question to be unmerciful. This encourages the reader to view the company to be as monstrous as the tools it possesses, presenting an indirect challenge to the Standard oil Company’s disregard for the environment. The use of visceral imagery furthermore develops the characterisation of the drill to mimic a monster, as the organ is disregarded and forgotten, until it causes extreme discomfort. Similarly, Neruda is expressing the passive aggressiveness of the oil industry and criticising the lack of opposition to their endeavours before it reaches critical mass. The hostile and forward approach to the issue, from the outset, amplifies the hostility of the poem.  This alludes to the unsympathetic tone used in the first stanza, to heighten the enmity of the piece, as the damage is overlooked similar to the end product of the intestines. Just as a monster presents itself as the cause of pain and destruction within a plot line, so does the involvement of oil companies in Neruda's piece. The harsh and vivid tone, created through the use of visceral imagery, supplements the realisation of the destructive reality of the oil industry as they exploit the Earth without real reason like "scattered shots"[2]. The adjective of “scattered” implies that the objectives and methods of the industry are blindly led, connoting a sense of misdirection. Neruda’s application of visceral imagery encourages the epiphany of his reader in realising the destruction caused by the oil industry.  Hence the use of visceral imagery, functioning as an oracle, exposes the oblivious nature of both the drill and the industry - as they fail to acknowledge their monstrous behaviour. The exposure of the oil company, via visceral imagery, induces ignorance and frustration, emphasising the hostile tone created in the stanza.

[1] NERUDA, PABLO, ‘Standard Oil Company’, Reed, 1940, translated by Jack Schmitt, 2010 Line 2

[2] NERUDA, PABLO, IBID Line 38