"Es tan corto el amor y tan largo el olvido."
/es tahn KOR-toh el ah-MOR ee tahn LAR-goh el ol-VEE-doh/
So short is love, and so long is forgetting.
💡 Understanding the Quote
"Es tan corto el amor y tan largo el olvido."
🎨 Visual Representation
Neruda's famous line contrasts the brief joy of love with the long, difficult process of forgetting.
🔑 Key Words
📖 Context
This is the final, iconic line of 'Poema 20' from the book 'Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada' (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair), published in 1924.
📝 In Action
Terminamos hace un año, pero todavía pienso en ella. Es verdad lo que dijo Neruda: 'es tan corto el amor y tan largo el olvido'.
B2We broke up a year ago, but I still think about her. What Neruda said is true: 'so short is love, and so long is forgetting'.
El poema termina con esa famosa línea, que resume perfectamente el sentimiento de pérdida.
B2The poem ends with that famous line, which perfectly summarizes the feeling of loss.
✍️ About the Author
📜 Historical Context
This quote is from Neruda's 1924 book 'Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada'. Published when he was just 19, the book was a sensation. It broke from older, more rigid poetic styles by using simple, direct language to talk about love, passion, and heartbreak in a way that felt raw and intensely personal.
🌍 Cultural Significance
This is one of the most famous and beloved lines in all of Spanish-language poetry. It has become a universal expression for the pain of lost love, quoted in movies, songs, and everyday conversations across the Spanish-speaking world. It perfectly captures a feeling almost everyone has experienced.
📚 Literary Analysis
The line's power comes from its perfect, simple contrast. Neruda uses a parallel structure ('tan corto el...' y 'tan largo el...') to place two opposite experiences side by side. The simplicity of the words—'corto' (short), 'largo' (long), 'amor' (love), 'olvido' (forgetting)—makes the profound emotional truth hit with incredible force. It's a masterclass in expressing a huge, complex feeling with very few words.
⭐ Usage Tips
When to Use It
This quote is perfect for moments of romantic melancholy or reflection. Use it when talking about a past relationship, a breakup, or the general bittersweet nature of love. It’s deeply poetic, so it fits best in thoughtful or emotional conversations.
Emotional Impact
Because this line is so famous and emotional, quoting it can instantly create a sense of shared understanding. It shows you're familiar with a major piece of Hispanic culture and can express complex feelings poetically.
🔗 Related Quotes
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: Es tan corto el amor y tan largo el olvido.
Question 1 of 2
Who is the author of 'Es tan corto el amor y tan largo el olvido'?
🏷️ Categories
Themes:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this quote so famous?
It's famous because it uses very simple language to express a universal and deeply painful human experience. Almost everyone who has been through a difficult breakup can immediately understand the feeling that the good times were too short and the sadness lasts forever.
Was Pablo Neruda writing about a specific person?
While the poems in the collection were inspired by his youthful romances in Santiago, Neruda himself said they were a mix of memories of different women. The power of the poem is that it feels personal to anyone who reads it, regardless of who specifically inspired it.