analysis of poetry "Eats Your Words" by Benjamin Zephaniahh

Eat Your Words

I am a veggie table
A table made of veg,
There’s so much fruit upon me
All living on the edge,
Life is hard
But so are plates
And tea can be quite hot,
And vegetarian poets
Make me nervous quite a lot.

By: Benjamin Zephaniah

An Analysis of Poetry “Eat your Words”

Poetry “Eat Your Words” by Benjamin Zephaniah consist of one stanza and nine lines. Generally, this poetry tells about the real meaning of our life. We have to be sensitif about something around us, listen to what happen and also learn something around us. Someone that can compete in his/her life is someone that wants to listen or pay attention about anything around them. We may not ignore anything that someone else say to us because maybe that things are important. The speaker tells us that we have to be careful about anything that we want to say. Thinking is the most important one to do before going to act or say. This poetry uses connotation meaning because every word shows another meaning. The speaker analogizes the veggie table, fruits, plates and tea. Speaker describes these word very clearly in every single sentence in this poetry.

The speaker in this poetry is someone who has mature mind. She/he knows how to think well. The speaker draws “Table” as our “Mind” and “Fruit and Veg” as our “Word”. As we know the function of the table is to put anything. We can put vegetable, fruits and so on upon it, and so in our mind. We can think/put any words in our mind. We can see in line 2:

A table made of veg,

There’s so much fruit upon me

It means that our mind made of our word. So everything that we speak will create something in our mind. Then there are so many words in our mind. The speaker analogizes on fruit because fruit can be sweet, sour and bitter and so as word. Every word that we speak is not good at all. Sometimes we speak something that we think it’s good but someone else may not think like we are. All that word is a part of our live. They can create the character of us, they can show our personality by the way we are speaking, and they also can create of how we are thinking about something.

Life is never flat. Everybody must find difficulties in their life because it will make our life colorful. In this poetry, the speaker supposes life is like “plate”. As we know, plate is not flat, but there is a hollow in it. So life is not always going on well. Actually there is a challenge on it. Then, if we see, plate is something hard, but actually it’s not hard at all, it is brittle. And it also happened in our life. If we are brittle like a plate, we will break. It means that we have to consistent about all of our word, if it’s not, word that will eat you.

But the entire problem and difficulties that we have, we will find happiness in the end if we want to try. Let see in line 7:

And tea can be quite hot

As we know, if we drink a tea, we will feel warm, peace and healthy. Then it also happened in our life. Beside all the problems that we have, we will fine the solution and the happiness in the end of our life because God never give a difficulty outside our power.

            Then in this poetry the speaker also said if a poet wants to make a masterpiece, she/he must someone that understands well about the meaning of life, not only in the world but also in the eternity. So if we want to speak with a poet, we have to pay attention about every single word that we speak. Because every single word that we speak will show our personality.

            The tones of this poetry are invitation and optimisme. We can see that in line 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9:

            Life is hard

            But so are plates

            And tea can be quite hot

            And vegetarian poets

            Make me nervous quite a lot

The speaker show that how hard the life is by give analogy on a plate, but behind that there is still a happiness that waiting for you.

From this poetry we can get some moral value. We have to be care about something around us. If we are careless we will never know about the real meaning of our life. Then we have to be careful about something that we are speaking because our word will create our mind. Then we have to conscious that life is never flat.

An Analysis of Poetry

“Eat Your Words” by Benjamin Zhepaniah

By:

MILA MULTIN

18260

NK2-10

English Department

The faculty of Language and Art

State University of Padang

2012