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The Secret Life Of Books Poem Analysis

Decent Essays

At first glance, the poems “Birthday” by M. T. Buckley and “The Secret Life of Books” by Stephen Edgar may seem completely unrelated in every aspect. “Birthday” is a poem about how being born is comparable to being in war, while “The Secret Life of Books” is about the nature and power of reading and literature. But once broken down to their bits and pieces, the poems are in fact very much alike. Although there are differences within both, the authors use significant titles, tone, and extended metaphors throughout the poems that make the two poems similar. Titles are the very first thing a reader is exposed to while beginning to read a poem. They set the tone and prepare the reader for what is to come. Therefore, it is important to have an eye catching and significant title for one’s …show more content…

Like a composer needs musicians, books need readers. The tone allows the reader to realize that we are what we read, as we are what we learn.
Extended metaphors in poetry allow the author to make comparisons all throughout the poem. In “Birthday” and “The Secret Life of Books”, extended metaphors are used throughout both poems. In “Birthday”, the author decided to compare being born in a very interesting and dark way. “These suicide missions are all the same. / Name? Not yet. Unit? 82nd
,” (7-8). The narrator’s birth is being compared to a paratrooper’s suicide mission into enemy territory. This creates a very unique and interesting comparison for the reader. The narrator uses the extended metaphor throughout the poem to emphasize the danger of the unknown that lies ahead of him at his birth. Just as the paratrooper faces the unknown of his future, the narrator experiences the same things he looks towards his future. In comparison, in “The Secret Life of Books”, the author uses an extended metaphor, personifying books and making them appear alive and human-like. “They have you. In the end they have written you, / By the intrusion,” (25-26).

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