Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)

Dickinson’s untitled poem, referred to by its first line, is a short free-verse poem. “Fame is a fickle food” could be considered elegiac, or a poem that uses elements from the elegy form. In the most direct and well-edited sources (including the manuscript in Dickinson’s own handwriting), there is no end punctuation. However, it being signed and separate from other poems on the same page indicates that it is a complete poem, rather than a fragment; the lack of punctuation is a deliberate choice in Dickinson’s composition.

Dickinson begins with the metaphor, or comparison, between fame and food, which is the controlling image of the poem. The adjective “fickle” (Line 1) indicates that the food of fame is not always accessible or consistent. The first line also includes the alliteration of three words that begin with “f”; this makes the fickleness a key part of the comparison, putting the adjective on equal footing with the nouns. The line break after “food” (Line 1) sections off a complete sentence.

However, the second line turns the simple first-line sentence into a more complex one. Without the second line, the first line’s sentence is merely a definition with a subject, verb, modifying adjective, and object. Adding on the second line creates a sentence with another prepositional clause. In the second line, the reader learns where the food is, in addition to what it is. The “plate” (Line 2) seems to be just as fickle as the food; food and plate are adorned with similar adjectives. The “shifting” (Line 2) nature of the plate makes the location of the food unsteady as well as uncertain.

The third line begins with “whose” (Line 3), which is repeated in Line 6. After the food’s location is described, two aspects of the food’s presentation are described; this is another clause in the long sentence that makes up the poem. In Lines 4 and 5, the “table” (Line 3) is “set” (Line 5) in one instance but not set a “second” (Line 5) time. This makes it so the “guest” (Line 4) is able to eat only in the first instance. Dickinson develops the inconsistent nature of the food—fame—by contrasting the two tables; one is full, one is empty. This metaphor conveys that fame can appear to be fulfilling, but it is not sustainable.

The sixth line begins with “whose” (Line 6); this repeated structure points to another description for food (another modifying clause). Here, it is the “crumbs” (Line 6) that are being described, rather than the “table” of Line 3. Crows carefully consider the crumbs, in contrast to the “guest” (Line 4) at the table who does not “inspect” (Line 6) their food. In the seventh line, the crows’ inspection leads them to ironically “caw” (Line 7). The adjective “ironic” (Line 7) highlights the difference between the human eaters and the avian eaters.

In Lines 8 and 9, Dickinson describes the crow’s actions. After cawing over the food of fame, the crows fly “past” (Line 8) it. In other words, they take flight and leave fame behind, unconcerned by it. Instead, the crows head towards the “farmer’s corn” (Line 9). These ears, that are presumably still growing, are more sustainable than the fickle food of fame. Corn, in the field, has a different set of symbolic associations than the plated food.

In the tenth and final line, Dickinson returns to her discussion of the humans, or “men” (Line 10). They eat “it” (Line 10) and perish. The referent for the pronoun “it” can be read as either the corn—the closest noun—or the food of fame. The latter reading follows the structure of using line breaks before clauses that modify food. In other words, “upon” (Line 2) and “whose” (Lines 3 and 6) introduce phrases that develop the idea of food. Also, the food of fame is the referent for the previous instance of “it” (Line 8), which supports reading the final “it” (Line 10) as the food of fame as well. Satiating one’s hunger for fame, ultimately, results in death.