God the EaterThere is a god in whom I do not believe Yet to this god my love stretches, This god whom I do not believe in is My whole life, my life and I am his. Everything that I have of pleasure and pain( Of pain, of bitter pain and men's contempt) I give this god for him to feed upon As he is my whole life and I am his. When I am dead I hope that he will eat Everything I have been and have not been And crunch and feed upon it and grow fat Eating my life all up as it is his. Stevie Smith
About This Quote

"God the Eater" is a particularly grim philosophical poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poem was written after Shelley had gone through a period of depression. The speaker is a man whose life has been destroyed by an unnamed god. In this poem, the speaker realizes that the god is actually a part of his very being and is consuming him from within.

His despair is expressed through the form of the language, which seems to be in some way alienating from the reader. The language is rich with biblical references, but also includes elements of modern poetry. This dramatic tone serves to add even more power to the whole poem.

Source: Collected Poems

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