Untitled Poem Essay

306 Words2 Pages
Untitled by Stephen Crane is a simple ten-lined poem that expresses the truth about someone’s heart. The poem not having a title is of great importance. By not giving the poem a specific title, Crane makes the readers ponder, and makes the poem seem mysterious. When a poem is given a title, one immediately assumes that it is in direct correlation with the poem, and is taken as being important to the meaning. When first glancing at Crane’s poem, one can conjure countless interpretations of the poem solely because of the absence of a title. In the poem, it can be inferred that the author has had a dream. In the beginning, he is in the desert, where he sights a beastly creature who is sitting on the ground holding his own heart. He then proceeds to eat his own heart, claiming that it has a bitter taste, because it is his heart. The creature is not described as a beast. The phrase “and ate of it” shows that the creature does not devour the heart like a true monster, but has human feelings. Crane uses imagery in a very profound way, creating a very vivid picture in one’s head. The theme of can be inferred to be about human nature. The creature eating his heart, and realizing it was bitter implies that humans are capable of defining their own self, and appreciate themselves even though their personality may be ugly. While most people are afraid to admit their flaws, the “creature” does not seem to be scared, and accepts that he is in fact a bitter person, and content. Crane uses graphic images in this laconic poem to reveal the meaning of human nature and their view of themselves. His very brief words almost veil the meaning, allowing one to contemplate several
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