A Study of Reading Habits

In this poem the persona talks about the effect reading used to have on him when he was younger, the way he used to use it to escape real life and pretend he was like the characters in the books. He then talks about how now, he has stopped reading and realised he is only a side character, less important and not the main part.

Stanza 1:

• 'cured most things' shows how it was a way of escaping his life. 
• 'it was worth ruining my eyes' shows how the books didn't help him in real life, but it was worth it to distract himself from reality. 
• 'right hook to dirty dogs' shows how he is imagining situations in which he is the main character, someone he is not. Alliteration emphasizes the fact it is exaggerated and not real.

Stanza 2:

• 'with inch-thick specs' shows how reading these books is actually making his life worse, disabling him. 
• 'later' shows time has moved on, he is older but still fantasizes to be someone he's not, this time a 'sex' devil. 
• 'specs' rhymed with 'sex' demonstrates how contrasting his real life is with his imaginary life. 
• 'i broke them up like meringues' makes it comical. 

Stanza 3:

• 'dont read much now' shows he has grown up, and given up on fantising over being someone else, he is realistic about what he is. 
• 'chap whos yellow' connotes cowardice, demonstrating his low opinion of himself. 
• 'just before the hero arrives' shows he's just a side character. 
• 'books are a load of crap' the final line shows how spiteful he is of books as they seem to have given him irrealistic expectations.