eating poetry imagery essay

Eating Poetry

By Mark Strand

‘Eating Poetry’ by Strand depicts the transformative joy of consuming art, turning a man into a dog in a surreal narrative.

Mark Strand

He was named the Poet Laureate Consult in Poetry.

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

‘Eating Poetry’ is an unusual and surreal poem that depicts the effects of “eating poetry”. The scenes are set in a library in which a man steadily upsets a librarian with his happiness and poetry-fueled actions. It was first published in 1980 and is quite characteristic of much of Strand’s work.  

Explore Eating Poetry

• 1 Summary of Eating Poetry 
• 2 Themes in Eating Poetry 
• 3 Structure and Form of Eating Poetry
• 4 Literary Devices in Eating Poetry
• 5 Analysis of Eating Poetry 
• 6 Similar Poems 

Summary of Eating Poetry  

In the six stanzas of ‘Eating Poetry,’ the speaker describes, through short, punchy lines, his choice to eating poetry. This strange and at first mysterious habit soon expands into a transformation of the world. Dogs appear and the speaker is himself transformed into a dog. The ink drips down his chin and he is happier than words can describe.  

Themes in Eating Poetry  

Throughout ‘Eating Poetry’ Strand engages with themes of happiness and transformation. The surreal landscape that he creates allows him to depict the effects of happiness on someone who is completely consumed by their passion. The speaker, the poetry eater, gives himself over wholly to that which he loves, reading and writing poetry. He is remade into a “new man,” a dog who licks the librarian’s hand. His experience of the world is so different from hers, the juxtaposition so strong, that Strand depicts it through a physical transformation into another species.  

Structure and Form of Eating Poetry

‘ Eating Poetry’ by Mark Strand is a six stanza poem that is divided into sets of three lines, known as tercets . These tercets do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern, meaning that they are written in free verse . But, despite how it sounds, this doesn’t mean the poem is without any sort of structure at all. There are several literary devices present in the poem as well as examples of half-rhyme . For instance, the long “e” vowel sound in “poetry” and “sees” in stanzas one and two. There is also a good example of perfect, internal rhyme in line three of the fourth stanza with “feet” and “weep”.  

Literary Devices in Eating Poetry

Strand makes use of several interesting literary devices in ‘Eating Poetry’ these include but are not limited to alliteration , imagery , and anaphora . The latter is one of the easiest techniques to spit. It is seen through the use and reuse of words or phrases at the beginning of multiple lines. For example, “The” at the start of all three lines of stanza three.  

Alliteration is also quite easy to spot. It is one of a number of techniques that can be used to increase the rhyme and rhythm of a poem. For example, “walks with” in stanza two and “blond,” “burn,” and “brush” in stanza four.  

Imagery is another important device that is seen in the best, most evocative poetry. In the case of ‘Eating Poetry,’ there are several good examples that engage a variety of senses. For example, the last line reads: “I romp with joy in the bookish dark”.  

Analysis of Eating Poetry  

Stanzas one and two.

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. (…) and she walks with her hands in her dress.

In the first stanza of ‘Eating Poetry,’ the speaker begins by stating very clearly he’s been eating poetry. Ink is running from the “corners of [his] mouth” and he’s experiencing happiness that no one else can understand. It is the idea of inexpressible happiness and passion that’s at the heart of this poem. By depicting happiness as something absurd , like eating poetry, Strand is showing how impossible it is to share the true extent of one’s happiness with another person.  

Unfortunately for the librarian, he has decided to eat poetry in the library. She can’t “believe what she sees” and her “eyes are sad”. She has no idea what it’s like to experience the passion he’s expressing. The librarian is included in this poem as a clear contrast to the speaker. There is a good example of enjambment in the transition between lines two and three of the second stanza.  

Stanzas Three and Four

The poems are gone. The light is dim. (…) The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.

In the third stanza, the poet includes several more short, to the point statements about the scene. The “poems” are gone now, he’s consumed them all. At the same time, the light of the moment has decreased. These end-stopped lines are solid and determined. The third line of the stanza is a surprise. Suddenly there are dogs. These dogs seem to have appeared from nowhere and are coming up the stairs. He can’t see them, but he can hear them.  

The dog’s legs are burning “like brush” and the librarian is starting to lose control of herself. She can’t handle the scene playing out before her.   The silence and relative peace of the library are very much transformed. The imagery in these lines is impressive, it is part of the passion the speaker is experiencing. It is the poetry that he’s consumed, that’s become a part of him, that’s making these images real.  

Stanzas Five and Six  

She does not understand. When I get on my knees and lick her hand, (…) I romp with joy in the bookish dark.

In the final two stanzas, the poet maintains his structure of short lines with end punctuation. He adds that the librarian does not “understand” what’s going on, either metaphorically or physically in front of her. He’s been transformed, the next lines reveal, into a dog himself.  

The speaker has been remade into a “new man”. He’s a lover and eater of poetry, a dog, a reenergized and passionate lover of literature. He’s experiencing his love to the utmost and romping with “joy in the bookish dark”. The librarian on the other hand, despite her job, has no real idea of what he is or what he’s experiencing.

Similar Poems  

Strand is known for his unusual and strikingly strange poems that ask the reader to reimagine one theme or the next. Another poet whose work is similarly dream-like is John Berryman . One of his best is ‘ Dream Song 29 ’.   But, there are less “out there” poems that also deal with themes of happiness . For example, ‘Coming’ by Philip Larkin in which he speaks about the coming of spring. Other examples include Dickinson ’s ‘How Happy is the Little Stone’ and ‘A Birthday’ by Christina Rossetti .  

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Eating Poetry Summary & Analysis by Mark Strand

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
• Poetic Devices
• Vocabulary & References
• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
• Line-by-Line Explanations

"Eating Poetry" is the opening poem in Mark Strand's 1968 collection Reasons for Moving . Using Strand's characteristically dark humor, the poem finds its speaker in the act of "eating" poetry in a library, devouring poems like a ravenous, wild animal. The librarian, for her part, can't believe what she's seeing and becomes increasingly terrified—especially as the speaker's passionate consumption seems to summon dogs from the basement! Surreal and strange, the poem testifies to the wonders of poetry itself—and perhaps suggests that it's not necessary to explain, categorize, or even fully understand poems in order to enjoy them.

• Read the full text of “Eating Poetry”

The Full Text of “Eating Poetry”

“eating poetry” summary, “eating poetry” themes.

The Power of Poetry

Line-by-line explanation & analysis of “eating poetry”.

Ink runs from ... ... been eating poetry.

The librarian does ... ... in her dress.

The poems are ... ... and coming up.

Lines 10-12

Their eyeballs roll, ... ... feet and weep.

Lines 13-15

She does not ... ... she screams.

Lines 16-18

I am a ... ... the bookish dark.

“Eating Poetry” Symbols

• Lines 9-11: “The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up. / Their eyeballs roll, / their blond legs burn like brush.”

“Eating Poetry” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

Alliteration.

• Line 1: “my mouth”
• Line 6: “walks with,” “her hands,” “her”
• Line 11: “blond,” “legs,” “burn,” “like,” “brush”
• Line 14: “her hand”
• Line 7: “The”
• Line 8: “The”
• Line 9: “The”
• Line 16: “I”
• Line 17: “I”
• Line 18: “I”
• Line 2: “like mine”
• Line 4: “believe,” “she sees”
• Line 8: “is dim”
• Line 12: “feet,” “weep”
• Line 14: “knees”
• Line 15: “she screams”
• Line 16: “am,” “man”
• Line 17: “snarl,” “bark”
• Line 1: “Ink runs,” “corners,” “my mouth”
• Line 3: “eating poetry”
• Line 9: “basement stairs”
• Line 10: “eyeballs roll”
• Line 12: “to stamp,” “feet”
• Line 16: “am,” “new man”
• Line 18: “bookish dark”

End-Stopped Line

• Line 1: “mouth.”
• Line 2: “mine.”
• Line 3: “poetry.”
• Line 4: “sees.”
• Line 6: “dress.”
• Line 7: “gone.”
• Line 8: “dim.”
• Line 9: “up.”
• Line 11: “brush.”
• Line 12: “weep.”
• Line 13: “understand.”
• Line 15: “screams.”
• Line 16: “man.”
• Line 17: “bark.”
• Line 18: “dark.”

Juxtaposition

Extended metaphor.

• Line 1: “Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.”
• Line 3: “I have been eating poetry.”
• Line 7: “The poems are gone.”
• Lines 17-18: “I snarl at her and bark. / I romp with joy in the bookish dark.”
• Line 11: “their blond legs burn like brush.”

“Eating Poetry” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• (Location in poem: Line 11: “their blond legs burn like ,” “brush”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Eating Poetry”

Rhyme scheme, “eating poetry” speaker, “eating poetry” setting, literary and historical context of “eating poetry”, more “eating poetry” resources, external resources.

Mark Strand's Biography — Learn more about Strand's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.  

Strand's Artistic Imagination — A podcast in which Strand talks about creativity and inspiration. 

Strand in His Own Words — An interview in which the poet talks about his early works. 

The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a recording of Strand reading his poem aloud.

Another Side of Strand — Mark Strand was also an accomplished visual artist, making collages like those pictured in this interview. 

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Poetry — Mark Strand’s “Eating Poetry”: A Poem Analysis

Mark Strand's "Eating Poetry": a Poem Analysis

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Published: Jun 13, 2024

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Poetry Facts

“Eating Poetry” by Mark Strand: An In-Depth Analysis

First published in the 60s, “Eating Poetry” is a typical illustration of the unusual and illusory writing style of Mark Strand, a Canadian-born American poet, writer, and translator who is known for surrealistic, dreamlike, and a little “wild” verse compositions.

Portraying a man devouring poetry and the effect of such consumption on himself and the one who has witnessed – a librarian, “Eating Poetry” is a priceless tribute to the literary work’s power. 

A Summary of “Eating Poetry”

One man’s excessive poetry eating and a librarian’s response are surrealistically portrayed in Mark Strand’s story “Eating Poetry.” The man in the poem claims that nothing brings people greater joy than eating poetry, and that is precisely what he’s been doing.

Meanwhile, the librarian is completely taken aback by the speaker’s actions. To the man, she’s just a poor woman who doesn’t “get it.” He then gets down on his knees and licks her hand, to which the librarian screams in response. He continues to act like a dog, growling and barking at the librarian before bounding around joyfully in the peaceful darkness of the library.

To read the full poem, click here .

The theme of “Eating Poetry”

The poem’s setting is an unknown library, and the story it tells is quite macabre with a man eating poetry, literally. Ink has been running from both sides of his mouth and he then behaves just like a dog. Can you imagine witnessing this? In Strand’s composition, a librarian who has confronted him is speechless. 

With a dreamlike scene of joy sparked from eating poetry, Strand creates a theme of happiness and transformation, as well as surrealism throughout the poem.

• The landscape, characters, and everything in this Strand’s composition appears to be a work of the imagination only. The speaker is engrossed in a hallucinatory and imaginary world, while his actions drag the librarian into the same surreal surroundings. 
• The joy expressed in “Eating Poetry” is also unlike any other experience we are familiar with. Even as the narrator “romps with joy,” we can tell he’s doing so in the “bookish dark.” The speaker devotes his entire life to poetry. He’s reborn as a “new man”, which is a tribute to poetry’s arcane and transformative power.
• Might the narrator be extremely happy, all of his merriment is frightful and inexplicable to the librarian? She “does not believe what she sees” and “does not understand”. With a bizarre and unreal main concept, this poem demonstrates how challenging it is to pin down a notion of common reality.

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“Eating Poetry” Analysis by Stanza

The poem begins in media res, or immediately in the heart of the action. As implied by the title, the narrator is “devouring” poetry.

“Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry”

Although this is a metaphor for reading lines, the stanza very bluntly depicts the process of consumption as though poetry were a delicious dish. Strand uses “runs” for the ink, instead of “drips” or “seeps”, which provides the image of someone eating voraciously.

With a series of short, end-stopped sentences, this introductory stanza creates a vibrant picture. The confident periods closing each line suggest that the person is not in a rush and intends to relish all. Something delectable, excellent, and nutritious has been ingested, and the outcome is favorable –  “There is no happiness like mine.”

The main idea behind this writing is the concept of incomprehensible joy and enthusiasm. Strand illustrates how impractical it is to express the true extent of one’s enjoyment by depicting it as something crazy, such as gobbling up poetry.

Line 4 presents another character, the librarian, who seems to be a lot more normal than the speaker. Beholding such an act of gluttony, she  “does not believe what she sees”.

There is an enjambment between lines 5 and 6, depicting the librarian’s responses:

• She is portrayed as “sad”. Her eyes appear to be filled with sorrow, and she walks “with her hands in her dress,” implying that she is unable to change things.
• The hidden hands also suggest caution and a wish to secure herself.

It is obvious that the librarian stands in stark contrast to the narrator.

Here comes anaphora, the recurrence of “the” at the beginning of each line in this stanza. Mark Strand has purposely utilized the most often used English word, which only ever comes in conjunction with a noun, to develop another sub-plot to the concept of realism against surrealism.

“The poems.. The light.. The dogs…”

These three solid lines bring the readers back into the illusory world of the man. Simple statements are made. The speaker is straightforward to say “The poems are gone”. Off the page and straight into the poetry eater’s stomach, poetry is now a part of the man.

The light in the library is “ dim ”. This has no causal relationship with “eating poetry”. It could be because the library is shutting and lights are switched off, or it could be because nighttime is approaching and the daylight is fading. No matter what the reason is, the dim light contributes to the eerie ambiance.

In the final line of stanza 3, Strand brings extra abnormalities into the verse by abruptly introducing dogs.

The man fails to see them, but he can listen to them. These animals appear to have come from nowhere and are making their way up the stairs, which raises further questions:  Why are they here? Are these the canines of the subconscious, or are they representations of wild, free, and uncontrollable energy?

The fourth one describes the dogs in a similar way to how the second stanza portrays the librarian.

• “Their eyeballs roll,” a sign of insanity, depicts a crazed or frenzied loss of control.
• The alliterating words, “blond legs burn like brush”, give the dogs a scary and feral appearance.

While the flaming image of dogs stands out against the dim lighting, the “poor” librarian is beginning to lose her calm. She is unable to handle the circumstance that is unfolding in front of her. The internal rhyme in “stamp her feet and weep” has created an image of a miserable librarian.

From now on, the library’s quietness and peace have been altered. The imagery in these sentences is striking. The poetry the man has read, which now gets inside him, brings these scenes to reality.

Mark Strand keeps up his style of short sentences with end punctuation in the last two stanzas.

He continues that the librarian does not “ understand ” what’s going on in front of her, either  symbolically or physically . She is completely an outsider who is at a loss in this situation. And perhaps this image of the librarian also reflects the types of bookish people who study topics yet don’t acquire a sense of the actual world.

Might the narrator have a reasonable, common-sense answer to the librarian, he has been turned into a dog himself and starts to “ lick ”. Screams ensue naturally since her hand is now drenched in dog drool which is likely mixed with the leftover ink.

There are numerous contrasts within the verse, but none are as vital as this last one. The narrator, poet eater, or dog-man has become a “new man”.

He has devoted his own old self to his passion and evolved into an enthusiastic, well-fed, active romper, delighted to show his passion for poetry:  “romping with joy in the bookish dark” . The dog portrayed now is much less scary and the dark has a light of wisdom – “ bookish ” – rather than the hellish one in stanza 4.

Strand’s poem comes to a close with the rhymes  “bark”  and  “dark”.  In the final lines, there is also a mixture of both  “joy”  and  “dark” . These bring the poem to a melodious, gratifying end, evoking the speaker’s joy at being filled up with poetry.

In the meantime, what happens to the librarian? The audience is allowed to guess, which may be a nice sign.

Literary Devices Used in “Eating Poetry”

Although “Eating Poetry” uses few poetic devices, they are nevertheless quite good. Anaphora is probably the easiest one to spot. Take note of how some stanzas, like the third and last one, begin with the same words. Short, direct lines employing the most fundamental words available in the English language.

The word “the” is used in the third stanza along with a noun, an entity that is hard to define in and of itself. In this instance, the poet deliberately used it to develop yet another sub-plot related to the issue of realism against surrealism.

“Eating Poetry” sounds more clearly poetic when another literary device, alliteration, is used. Alliteration is like a display of celebratory fireworks in a poem that is all about the joyous powers of poetry. It appears in a number of lines in the poem, including the first line.

Ink runs from the corners of  m y  m outh.

The word “my mouth” is emphasized by the humming /m/ sound, which also gives the impression that the speaker is cramming as much poetry as he possibly can into his body.

The Style of “Eating Poetry”

Mark Strand’s poem “Eating Poetry” has six stanzas piece of poetry broken into tercets (groups of 3 lines). Its language is straightforward, and the sentences follow a structure of subject-verb-object.

This poem is composed in free verse since its lines have inconsistent lengths and adhere to no set rhyme scheme or metrical structure.

Nonetheless, this does not imply that the verse lacks any form of organization. There are still pretty steady iambic rhythms at times. The poem also contains various rhetorical devices, along with the use of half-rhyme. Finally, the 2 final lines end the poem in a melodious and gratifying way.

In addition, these neat lines do give the poem an episodic attribute, moving from frame to frame and generating tension along the way. That there’s no meter also somehow reflects the speaker’s primordial and animalistic conduct.

Symbolism in “Eating Poetry”

“Eating Poetry” illustrates the marvelous transformative power of poems in a comic dark and surreal way. This poem amplifies how silent lines may elicit strong emotions in readers and transform them. Poetry consumption does not only bring exceptional pleasure but also transforms a person into a turbulent creature, a “burning dog”.

Furthermore, there is also a stark contrast between the narrator, who turns into a dog for his happiness of eating poetry, and the librarian, who is completely shocked at what she confronts.

The librarian should love literature, and the one who eats poetry is also passionate about poems. Two people can love one thing in different ways. Not less, just different. Yet such a dissimilarity makes it a struggle for them to understand each other. Genuine love can affect one’s being, which is way too weird for outsiders to grasp the idea.

The librarian’s existence may also allude to the necessity to classify and defend lingo, whereas the narrator chooses to just consume it. The speaker’s actions, then, may reveal how the narrator (and possibly the author himself) believes verses should be read: with appreciation, excitement, and passion.

Mark Strand is notable for his unique and “eccentric” poetry that challenges the audience to reinvent one or many themes.

And “Eating Poetry” is one of Strand’s beautiful pieces of poetry, with 18 lines arranged into 6 stanzas. Written in free verse and with a few poetic devices, the poem still impresses its readers with anaphora and alliteration.

This work combines aspects of both comedy and fantasy , as implied by its name. The man’s transformation indicates happiness and the power of poetry consumption.

That said, once consumed in public, poetry might become an unsettling power that many just can not grasp. That the man stands in stark contrast with the librarian means the difference in the way we love the same thing. Love, especially to poetry, can be powerful, even frightful, and inexplicable to many.

Long hair, short-sighted eyes – I am a mix of contradictory things. Also, a poem & art enthusiast.

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Mark Strand was recognized as one of the premier American poets of his generation as well as an accomplished editor, translator, and prose writer. The hallmarks of his style are precise language, surreal imagery, and the recurring theme of absence and negation; later collections investigate...

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Eating Poetry by Mark Strand: poem analysis

• mark-strand

This is an analysis of the poem Eating Poetry that begins with:

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine....

More information about poems by Mark Strand

• Analysis of Breath
• Analysis of The Coming Of Light
• Analysis of Lines For Winter

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Eating Poetry Analysis

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Eating Poetry

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Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry.

The librarian does not believe what she sees. Her eyes are sad and she walks with her hands in her dress.

The poems are gone. The light is dim. The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.

Their eyeballs roll, their blond legs burn like brush. The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.

She does not understand. When I get on my knees and lick her hand, she screams.

I am a new man. I snarl at her and bark. I romp with joy in the bookish dark.

From   Collected Poems   by Mark Strand. Copyright © 2014 by Mark Strand. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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The Power and Essence of Imagery in Literature

This essay is about the significance of imagery in literature, highlighting its ability to create vivid, sensory-rich experiences for readers. Imagery involves using descriptive language to engage the senses, making fictional worlds feel tangible and real. The essay discusses how imagery enhances the reader’s connection to the narrative, aids in character development, and reinforces thematic elements. Examples from works like “The Great Gatsby,” “Macbeth,” and “The Grapes of Wrath” illustrate how imagery creates emotional depth and mirrors central themes. Additionally, the essay notes that imagery is crucial in various genres, including poetry and visual media, emphasizing its versatility and enduring importance in storytelling.

How it works

Imagery, a pivotal device in literature, transforms mere words on a page into vivid scenes that leap off the paper and into the reader’s imagination. At its core, imagery involves the use of descriptive language that engages the senses, painting pictures that evoke sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. This literary technique not only enhances the reader’s experience but also deepens their emotional connection to the narrative.

One of the most compelling aspects of imagery is its ability to create a tangible world within the mind of the reader.

When an author describes a setting with rich sensory details, it allows readers to visualize the environment, almost as if they are stepping into the scene themselves. For instance, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” the vivid depiction of Gatsby’s lavish parties—the glittering lights, the symphony of laughter, and the clinking of champagne glasses—immerses the reader in the opulent and hedonistic world of the Roaring Twenties. This sensory engagement makes the fictional universe feel real and immediate.

Moreover, imagery plays a crucial role in character development and emotional expression. Through carefully crafted images, authors can convey complex emotions and traits that go beyond mere description. In William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” the recurring imagery of blood and darkness serves to reflect Macbeth’s descent into guilt and madness. The blood-stained hands and the enveloping darkness not only illustrate Macbeth’s inner turmoil but also create a mood of foreboding and doom. These images resonate with readers, making Macbeth’s psychological struggle palpable and profound.

In addition to enhancing the sensory experience and emotional depth of a narrative, imagery can also underscore thematic elements. Themes such as nature, decay, and renewal are often reinforced through recurring images that echo throughout a work. In John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” the harsh imagery of the Dust Bowl—cracked earth, withered crops, and relentless dust storms—mirrors the desolation and hardship faced by the Joad family. This alignment of imagery with theme helps to reinforce the novel’s message about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Imagery is not confined to traditional literature alone; it is a versatile tool that spans various genres and forms. In poetry, imagery is often the backbone of the work, creating condensed moments of intense sensory and emotional impact. Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” uses simple yet evocative imagery to convey a sense of peace and contemplation. The “dark and deep” woods, blanketed in snow, create a serene and almost mystical atmosphere that invites readers to pause and reflect alongside the speaker.

Even in contemporary literature and media, the power of imagery remains undiminished. Graphic novels and films, for example, rely heavily on visual imagery to tell their stories. The striking visuals in Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” or the haunting cinematography in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” demonstrate how imagery can transcend words, creating powerful emotional and thematic resonance.

Despite its varied applications, the essence of imagery remains the same: it is a bridge between the tangible and the abstract, the physical and the emotional. By engaging the senses, imagery allows readers to experience a narrative on a deeper, more immersive level. It transforms the act of reading from a passive activity into an active engagement with the text, where readers are not just observers but participants in the unfolding story.

In conclusion, imagery is a fundamental component of effective storytelling. It enriches the narrative, deepens character portrayal, and reinforces thematic elements, making the written word come alive. Whether through the detailed depiction of a setting, the symbolic use of recurring motifs, or the vivid portrayal of a character’s emotional state, imagery invites readers into a world where they can see, hear, feel, and experience the story in all its richness. As such, it remains an indispensable tool in the arsenal of any skilled writer, capable of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.

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The Power and Essence of Imagery in Literature. (2024, Jun 17). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/the-power-and-essence-of-imagery-in-literature/

"The Power and Essence of Imagery in Literature." PapersOwl.com , 17 Jun 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/the-power-and-essence-of-imagery-in-literature/

PapersOwl.com. (2024). The Power and Essence of Imagery in Literature . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-power-and-essence-of-imagery-in-literature/ [Accessed: 5 Jul. 2024]

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"The Power and Essence of Imagery in Literature," PapersOwl.com , 17-Jun-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-power-and-essence-of-imagery-in-literature/. [Accessed: 5-Jul-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2024). The Power and Essence of Imagery in Literature . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-power-and-essence-of-imagery-in-literature/ [Accessed: 5-Jul-2024]

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Eating Poetry Essay Questions

By mark strand, essay questions.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Timothy Sexton

What might the significance of the assertion that the librarian “does not understand” be in relation to the narrator’s description of the preceding events?

It is clear from the very next stanza that the narrator views himself on a higher evolutionary scale than the librarian. Although the very act of eating a book might seem a regression to a more primitive state along with his acting more like the dogs than humans, the narrator is strongly hinting by the assertion about himself that he is a new man that he represents progress. The librarian, by contrast, is the past. She is the world where poetry and pages and ideas and ink are held in bondage to rules about speaking volume and the Dewey Decimal System. When the narrator insists the librarian doesn’t understand, he is not just referring to very recent events. The implication is that she has become a prisoner to rigidly enforced codes of behavior and classification. He, on the other hand, represents what is actually inside the books she merely safeguards: imagination.

Why poetry?

The narrator could well have been eating prose. He might have been eating a science fiction novel. Or perhaps a history of Nazi Germany. Or even a magazine from the periodical rack. Instead, he is eating poetry and there surely must be some significance in that choice. The most obvious answer is that poetry traces back much further in the past than novels or history textbooks or magazines and so perhaps the choice of poetry is intended to say something about the origin of the written word. Another possible explanation is that prose fiction is intended to relate a narrative where the story is paramount above all else, at least in most cases. Non-fiction is grounded in history and fact, but facts can change as history learns more about the world. Magazines exist for the week or month and then are typically gone from sight and memory. Poetry, on the other hand, is primarily about the language used to convey information than it is an effective means of conveying information. Poetry is about words and how they are arranged to create meaning and how that meaning can be changed simply by arranging them in a very slightly different manner. Poetry is more likely to break the rules held so dear by the guardians of the establishment personified by the librarian.

Aside from the opportunities to make the librarian very rich character in such a short poem, why is the library the ideal setting for a strange tales of literally eating pages of printed words and demon dogs from hell?

Theoretically, the story told in the poem could have been set just about anywhere: a park bench, a fancy restaurant or a classroom are just three immediately obvious choices and very workable choices. Instead, the narrator deliberately set his tale in a library. The choice of a librarian as a symbol of authority certainly is an inspired choice, of course, but it could just as effective been a professor in the classroom or a famous author in the restaurant or any chance passerby in the park. Authority figures are not in short supply and many wield greater power than librarians. Where else, however, would there already be in close proximity thousands—tens of thousands and perhaps millions—of equally macabre stories already familiar to readers as well as yet to be discovered. The library is where all great and terrible stories about strange events and demon dogs from hell eventually wind up. No park, restaurant or classroom so simultaneously familiar with wild tales and uncompromisingly inappropriate for wild tales as a library. It is a place where far strangers stories have been told, but where so little of that strangeness has ever actually originated.

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Eating Poetry Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Eating Poetry is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

"Eating Poetry"

The metaphor alludes to the narrator's joy.... his consumption of poetry. He has literally been "eating poetry."

Eating Poetry Question-Characters

The dog is merely a human (man) acting like a dog. In my opinion, the dogs exist only in the man's mind. I do not believe the lighting is meant to scare us, but rather, illustrate the passage of time.

Do you associate certain things with librarians versus say comedians?

Does this question pertain to "Eating Poetry"?

Study Guide for Eating Poetry

Eating Poetry study guide contains a biography of Mark Strand, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Eating Poetry
• Eating Poetry Summary
• Character List

Essays for Eating Poetry

Eating Poetry essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Eating Poetry by Mark Strand.

• An Analysis of "Eating Poetry"