Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

“Eating Poetry” was written by Mark Strand in 1964.

Explanation:

Mark Strand's "Eating Poetry" is a playful and imaginative exploration of the transformative power of poetry. The poem tells the story of a speaker who becomes so enraptured by the poetry he's reading that he starts to eat it, devouring each word and image with a fierce hunger. As he consumes the pages, the speaker finds himself undergoing a metamorphosis, turning into a bookish, animalistic creature who roams the library stacks in search of more literature to devour.

Poetic Elements:

• Form: Free verse
• Theme: The transformative power of poetry
• Imagery: The poem is rich with vivid imagery, describing the speaker's transformation into a "man of paper" and his wild, animalistic behavior in the library stacks.
• Tone: The tone of the poem is playful and whimsical, with a touch of surrealism.
• Sound: The poem is filled with alliteration and internal rhyme, giving it a musical quality.
• Language: Strand uses a mix of elevated and colloquial language, blending the serious and the absurd to create a sense of playful irony.
• Figurative Language: The poem is full of metaphors and personification, as the speaker compares himself to a bookish creature and imagines the poems he eats as "meat" and "honey."
• Structure: The poem is divided into three stanzas of equal length, each building on the one before it to create a sense of progression.
• Symbolism: The act of eating poetry can be seen as a metaphor for the transformative power of art, as the speaker is literally consuming the words and images of the poems he's reading.
• Emotion: The poem evokes a sense of playfulness, joy, and a childlike wonder for the power of literature. It also touches on the idea of losing oneself in a piece of art and being transformed by it.

Conclusion:

Mark Strand's "Eating Poetry" is a lighthearted and whimsical exploration of the power of literature to transform and transport us. The poem encourages readers to embrace their love of language and allow themselves to be consumed by the beauty and power of words.

Poem Snippet:

"Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.

There is no happiness like mine.

I have been eating poetry."