A Close Analysis of The Bean Eaters Using the SOAPS Method

A Close Analysis of The Bean Eaters Using the SOAPS Method

S: The Bean Eaters is a poem about an elderly couple living together and content with their simple life (Brooks, 1963). Their meals consist mostly of beans, and they casually eat their dinner. How they dress and keep their rented room full of beads, receipts, dolls, and clothes shows their content with their lives.

O: The time and place for The Bean Eaters are not explicitly stated, but it seems to take place sometime in the past. The poem might have been prompted by the poet’s observations of elderly couples content with their simple lives. The persona observes the couple’s contentment and remembers their past.

A: The poet writes to married people to remind them that the old days can be happy despite hardships (Brooks, 1963). It reminds them to be grateful for what they have and love each other. The audience also can be young people who may not have chosen wisely. They are admonished to remember these two people when they reach old age and still have things to do.

P: The poet’s purpose is to showcase how two people can be content with their lives even if it is not extravagant (Saeed et al., 2021). They are still happy because they have each other and are grateful for life’s simple things. Brooks likely wrote this poem to express her belief that love is more important than material possessions. Love can make even the simplest things in life joyful. Material possessions cannot provide that same level of happiness.

S: A speaker is a third-person omniscient narrator who knows the couple well. The speaker admires the couple’s contentment and views them positively (Mansworth, 2020). Even though they don’t have much, the speaker knows the couple is happy because they have each other. The speaker does not judge the couple for their simple lifestyle and instead views them as an example of how love is more important than material possessions.

References

Brooks, G. (1963). The Bean Eaters by Gwendolyn Brooks. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/28110/the-bean-eaters

Mansworth, M. (2020). Teaching comparative poetry analysis. In Teaching English Language and Literature 16–19 (pp. 128-136). Routledge.

Saeed, A., Ahmed, A., & Saeed, R. (2021). Poetry in Style: A Stylistic Analysis of Rizwan Akhtar’s Poems. Multicultural Education, 7(5).

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A Close Analysis of The Bean Eaters Using the SOAPS Method

Directions: After reading the poem The Bean Eaters, analyze it through the
SOAPS method.
SOAPS is an acronym to remind you to ask yourself several questions about a
poem to establish some background for understanding
S: SUBJECT OF THE POEM- What is the poem about?
O: OCCASION-What is the time and place of the poem, and what might have
prompted the poet to write it?
A: AUDIENCE Who is the poet writing?
P: Purpose-What is the poet’s purpose? Is it to express an emotion or tell a story,
or convince someone of something?
S: SPEAKER- What do you know about the speaker based on the poem?
Complete a SOAPS analysis for The Bean Eaters by Gwendolyn Brooks.