preview

The Bean Eaters Poem Analysis

Decent Essays

"The Bean Eaters” The descriptive adjectives in Gwendolyn Brooks’ “The Bean Eaters” help contribute to the poem’s thematic intent. At the very beginning of the poem she starts to describe who the “bean eaters” are that she is writing the poem about. She writes, “They eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair.” (Brooks 1). This statement helps construct the theme of old age. Brooks wants to describe who the bean eaters are early in the poem so readers will have a certain image of them in the rest of the poem. She might be writing this so readers will feel sympathy for the old couple; she may want them to be seen as the lovable, selfless grandparent-type couple that many people look up to. Also, Brooks writes about the formality of their dinner.

Get Access