Eating Poetry | Style

Eating Poetry Style

Simple Language

The language a poet uses may not always be "thematic" by itself, but often a recurring style or word selection can present a certain motif. In "Eating Poetry," the language is simple and precise, written (or spoken) in a very brief, controlled manner. What makes this especially interesting in Strand's poetry is that the simple language is juxtaposed against a complex, easily misinterpreted background of abnormal events. He describes these wild, uncanny circumstances with the conventional monotony of a recipe. And, yet, the poem is far from monotonous. The use of unpretentious words actually adds tension and absurdity to an already surreal situation. To state calmly such lines as, "I have been eating poetry," "The poems are gone," "I am a new man," and "I snarl at her and bark" makes their meanings more eerie than if they were screamed or shouted as though by a madman. The speaker does...
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