Poetic Precis: "Biscuit"

In Jane Kenyon’s “Biscuit,” she explains in a powerful tone the importance of not becoming too dependent on someone else through her antithesis and simile. Throughout this poem, a dog and an owner have an encounter at feeding time. In the first stanza, there is a simile where Kenyon compares feeding the dog to a “priest offering the host.” This makes the reader feel as though the owner is at the mercy of the dog. However, this idea is contrasted in the second stanza where the owner has “power” and could have given the dog a “stone.” Kenyon contrasts the word “bread” and “stone” to highlight the power the owner has through his choices for the dog’s meal. It can be seen that the dog is at the mercy of the owner and has too much faith in him/her. Jane Kenyon conveys the idea that over dependence can be detrimental through antithesis and an important simile.