Unseen Commentary on 'The Secret Life of Books' by Stephen Edgar, from Corrupted Treasures, (1995)

This five stanza poem is steeped in the extended personification of the books as articulate individuals. The title, The Secret Life of Books suggests there is something hidden below the superficial purposes (covers) of the books, that there is a hidden agenda that we don't know about, as is also suggested in line 11 and 12 (stanza 2). The ambiguity of the poem stems from the themes of the poem which regard the power of books and language …

…line is the most ambiguous of all. Edgar's use of the word "allusion" (and not illusion) would suggest to me that the heart's beat is symbolic of passion and that it is an allusion to something inexpressible. The heartbeat or symbol alludes to something deeper than language and that perhaps cannot be expressed in words, thereby demonstrating a full circle. Edgar began by addressing themes on the power of language, but ends on the limitations.