Supplement

To supplement my monotonous summarizing blog I would like to expand to Bolivar's delirium/dream's effect on his real life. When Bolivar is physically and figuratively on top of a mountain he is brought down by the god of Time he is told "Do not conceal the secrets heaven has revealed to you. Tell me the truth" (page 136). Bolivar's delirium could be seen as arrogant; and in some ways it is. However, this is not a bad sense of arrogance. An aristocrat, Bolivar is well off, however he uses his wealth, and knowledge, (such as that acquired in his delirium) for good. He was a succesful conquerer and had a large role in the independence of several countries including Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Panama and is often referred to as the "George Washington of South America" (wikipedia.org).

Comments on "My Delirium"

In the final lines of the poem, Bolivar reveals that the entire poem is a dream of his. He uses imagery comparing death with sleep and talks about how he is regenerated and awakens to write about his dreams, his delirium- "I come back to life...and write down my delirium." HE discusses numerous significant places, primarily in South America. He climbs and travels these places in triumph ranging from the river of Orinoco (one of the longest rivers in South America) to the mountain range of the Humboldt. He also discusses his interactions with the gods Iris and Belona and so he uses these two types of physical and spiritual climb to envision success in conquering physical barriers of mountains and spiritual ones through interactions with goddesses. Through the document one can come to realize how Bolivar became so successful, he had ambitious dreams which led him to want to achieve so much. Through his dreams he feels a "strange, higher fire" which, i believe, motivates him to explore and achieve in life.