"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”

• “Eating Poetry” Summary

• “Eating Poetry” Themes

  • 

    The Power of Poetry

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-18

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Eating Poetry”

  • Lines 1-3

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

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-6

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

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-9

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

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-12

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

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-15

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

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-18

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

    

    

    

    

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• “Eating Poetry” Symbols

  • 

    The Dogs

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • 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

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “my mouth”
    • Line 6: “walks with,” “her hands,” “her”
    • Line 11: “blond,” “legs,” “burn,” “like,” “brush”
    • Line 14: “her hand”

  • Anaphora

    

    

    

    

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    Where anaphora appears in the poem:

    • Line 7: “The”
    • Line 8: “The”
    • Line 9: “The”
    • Line 16: “I”
    • Line 17: “I”
    • Line 18: “I”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • 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”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Ink runs,” “corners,” “my mouth”
    • Line 3: “eating poetry”
    • Line 6: “walks with,” “her hands,” “her”
    • Line 9: “basement stairs”
    • Line 10: “eyeballs roll”
    • Line 11: “blond,” “legs,” “burn,” “like,” “brush”
    • Line 12: “to stamp,” “feet”
    • Line 14: “her hand”
    • Line 16: “am,” “new man”
    • Line 17: “snarl,” “bark”
    • Line 18: “bookish dark”

  • End-Stopped Line

    

    

    

    

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    Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:

    • 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

    

    

    

    

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    Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

    • Line 3
    • Lines 4-18

  • Extended Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where extended metaphor appears in the poem:

    • 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.”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • 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.

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

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

  • Form

  • Meter

  • 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. 

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