Mahfud Massís was born in Chile in a family of arab origin; he belonged to the so-called Generation of '28. This essay examines his theory of the poetical image and his work on the subject of death as an axis which allows us to understand the heart-rending experience of his time; he develops this subject from various aspects: the relation of death and horror, distress, pain, the cosmos, the silent God. The construction of his particular poetical imagery transcends ordinary experience, and the infl uence of both arab and western cultures, with their specific brands of distress and horror, are to be understood as clear keys to his poetry.Mahfud Massís, hijo de la emigración árabe en Chile y perteneciente a la Generación del 28,expone en su obra lírica su teoría de la imagen poética y, en virtud de ella, trabaja el tema de la muerte como eje que recoge el desgarro del mundo de su época, y lo despliega desde distintos ángulos: horror, angustia, dolor, cosmos, ancestro, Dios silente. La construcción de su imaginario poético peculiar trasciende a la experiencia ordinaria y la presencia de la cultura árabe y occidental, con su marca de angustia y horror, devienen claves decisivas.