Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Creeley’s poem "Supper" employs repetition and stark imagery to explore themes of consumption, routine, and existential defiance. The repeated phrase “Shovel it in” emphasizes a mechanical, almost mindless rhythm to eating, stripping the act of any romanticism or pleasure. Instead, it becomes a necessary, relentless part of existence. In this context, eating is not celebrated as nourishment or enjoyment but presented as a task, one that we must complete over and over, as if merely to keep up with the demands of life itself.

The directive tone—“Eat for strength, for health... for yourself, for country and your mother”—seems to mock societal expectations placed upon individuals. By listing these different motivations, Creeley critiques the external pressures that often dictate personal actions. “Shovel it in” becomes not only a command to eat but also a metaphor for how society insists individuals conform, absorb, and accept the expectations imposed upon them. It reflects a cultural pressure to consume dutifully and to derive meaning, however artificially, from acts as mundane as eating, emphasizing the ways in which even personal acts are appropriated by societal demands.

The imagery of the “lawn’s like a shorn head” and the chairs “put away again” contributes to an atmosphere of barrenness and detachment, where even the surroundings reflect a lack of warmth or vibrancy. A “shorn head” suggests austerity or something stripped down, while “all the chairs are put away” conveys a sense of transience and impermanence. This setting feels emptied of comfort, intimacy, or permanence. Together, these lines depict a world that is clean, sparse, and unyielding—one that is orderly but devoid of true life or meaning.

In the latter half of the poem, Creeley shifts the focus from societal expectations to a personal, almost rebellious assertion of existence. The speaker rejects conventional concepts of heaven and even death: “I can no longer think of heaven as any place I want to go, not even dying.” Here, heaven, typically considered the ultimate comfort or reward, is dismissed, suggesting disillusionment with promised ideals or spiritual salvation. The speaker’s desire to “keep on eating, drinking, thinking” becomes a defiant embrace of the tangible, the present, and the physical. This longing to “shovel it in” until the end reflects a commitment to life itself, despite its monotony or limitations.

"Shovel it in" thus serves as both a literal directive and a metaphor for endurance. The act of consuming becomes a way to affirm existence, to “keep on” despite any lack of higher purpose or fulfillment. Creeley’s tone, while bleak, carries a hint of ironic humor—there is an absurdity in the relentless act of shoveling, of carrying on just for the sake of carrying on. By closing with “I am ahead. I am not dead. / Shovel it in,” the poem leaves us with a sense of defiance and resilience. Despite the repetitive, banal cycle of consumption, there is a will to live, even in its most mechanical form.

In "Supper", Creeley captures the paradox of existence: the simultaneous drudgery and defiant joy in persisting. The poem examines how we are bound to the physical world and our own desires, and through repetition, it underscores the duality of life as both a burden and a privilege.

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