A Deceptively Metaphorical Title
An examination of the use of figurative language in the poem begins with the title and that title is actually a rather deceptive use of metaphor. The title consists of two words that are not often found in such close proximity and this lack of familiarity with the resulting phrase has the effect of engendering a national expectation that the phrase will be figurative rather than literal. This only makes the immediacy of intention for the title to be taken quite literally all the more shocking while at the same still allowing it to retain its status as metaphor.
The Simile
While the poem overflows with metaphor, it features just one engagement of simile to drawn a comparison. When those crazy dogs suddenly appear from the basement, the description of their eyes is perhaps remarkably pedestrian while the poet oddly chooses to intensify the imagery of their legs for the reader by describing the color of their fur as blonde and the compounding that unexpected word choice by comparing that particular yellow hue the color the flames produced when brush catches fire. The precision and control of language which produce that image of the legs of the dogs stands in marked contrast to the absence of detail about physical feature that would be a more conventional one to describe through simile: Instead, we know only that their eyes rolled back.
The Literal Metaphor
The opening line of the poem is almost certainly taken metaphorically by many first time readers unfamiliar with the work: “Ink runs from the corner of my mouth.” Is an especially clever opening gambit by the writer since poetry is equally loved and dreaded for its sometimes crazy “poetic stuff” that is not designed to create a realistic reflection of the world. Poets are known for saying weird stuff that is not and cannot be taken literally and it is a wise assumption to accept that that opening is just that: an image that cannot possibly be intended literally. Thus, the poem begins with a fantastically ingenious metaphor that immediately confounds expectations and tosses the reader headlong into the surreal world where ink running from the corner of the mouth is not figurative at all and where it is a literal image meant to reflect reality that become the entryway into that strange and bizarre library.
A Celebration of the Love of Creative Writing
Of course, in a way, most readers have consumed a poem or a short story or a novel. Those books that readers return to again even after they’ve already read it all the way through at least once are often described as objects we consume or that, under certain circumstances, can consume the reader. The same goes for a movie watched and over and over or a television series you’ve seen so many times you can recite dialogue by heart. The crazy man in the library with the ink running down his face is merely metaphor made real and that metaphor may very well extend to your own love of a piece of creative writing.
Man AND Dog
The climax of the bizarre turn of events taking place inside the library concludes with figurative imagery of the eater of poetry becoming a metaphorical dog as he replicates their stance and behavior while remaining human. In an ironic counterpoint to this figurative represent of himself as beast, he literally voices the assertion that thanks to the experience is now “a new man” thus bringing the poem’s tension between what is real and what is not full circle.
