"Fame is a Fickle Food"Fame is a fickle food

Upon a shifting plate
Whose table once a
Guest but not
The second time is set.

Whose crumbs the crows inspect
And with ironic caw
Flap past it to the Farmer's Corn –
Men eat of it and die.

Analysis/Comment

“Fame is a Fickle Food” expresses using a metaphor that compares fame with several objects and situations. Indeed, the first stanza shows how fame is unpredictable; this fact can be proven by the following words and phrases: “fickle”, “shifting”, “…once a guest but not the second time is set”(Lines 3-5). The second stanza displays, another aspect of fame: the change it makes on all of us. Fame can change a person and his/her personality in many ways; It can change somone in a good way or completely ruin one’s identity, life, and character. For instance, the last verse of the poem actually explains this whole idea (i.e. “Men eat of it and die.”), so in this case, fame is considered as a bad influence on a human being. Plus, the “ironic caw” mentioned in the 2^nd line of the 2^nd stanza woks as an emphasis for the last line as well as for the whole stanza.

Many times, fame is considered as an “idol” to most of us. This is because everyone knows that being famous helps people economically and socially. Although, all of this could be true, most of us forget the negative side of the medal. We never think that fame is always going to be something temporary (“Nothing lasts for a 100 years.”) and as it can make one’s life better, it can also destroy lives.

Links
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/emilydickinson/11611