Mark+Strand

Mark Strand

//13. The New Poetry Handbook// //*//The poem has a interesting structure where each stanza had two lines and begins with a number, with the exception of the last stanza, which has three. The poem is structured like a list, a handbook. *The speaker lists out some fundamental 'rules' regarding poetry, and poetry writing. *Sometimes two stanzas are closely related to each other, or is a progression of the previous stanza, with the purpose to look at the issue from the opposite perspective or further emphasize the previous point.

//14. Eating Poetry// //*//The first stanza describes the speaker to be 'eating' poetry, which appears to be a metaphor for his enthusiasm regarding poetry, where it seems like he in devouring them. *The speaker then jumps into a description of a 'sad' librarian, which throws off the readers. She is sad because the 'poems are gone' and 'the dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.' *It wasn't until 'I get on my knees and lick her hand' that the reader realizes the speaker is a dog. It is him, who literally consumed the poems and destroyed them.