Frogs Eat Butterflies, Snakes Eat Frogs, Hogs Eat Snakes, Men Eat Hogs
Wallace Stevens
1879 to 1955
It is true that the rivers went nosing like swine,
Tugging at banks, until they seemed
Bland belly-sounds in somnolent troughs,
That the air was heavy with the breath of these swine,
The breath of turgid summer, and
Heavy with thunder’s rattapallax,
That the man who erected this cabin, planted
This field, and tended it awhile,
Knew not the quirks of imagery,
That the hours of his indolent, arid days,
Grotesque with this nosing in banks,
This somnolence and rattapallax,
Seemed to suckle themselves on his arid being,
As the swine-like rivers suckled themselves
While they went seaward to the sea-mouths.
Wallace Stevens's Frogs Eat Butterflies, Snakes Eat Frogs, Hogs Eat Snakes, Men Eat Hogs
I am busy working to bring Wallace Stevens's "Frogs Eat Butterflies, Snakes Eat Frogs, Hogs Eat Snakes, Men Eat Hogs" to life through some unique musical arrangements and will have a full analysis of the poem here for you later.
In the meantime, I invite you to explore the poem's themes, structure, and meaning. You can also check out the gallery for other musical arrangements or learn more about Wallace Stevens's life and contributions to literature.
Check back soon to experience how "Frogs Eat Butterflies, Snakes Eat Frogs, Hogs Eat Snakes, Men Eat Hogs" transforms when verse meets melody—a unique journey that makes poetry accessible, engaging, and profoundly moving in new ways.
© 2024-2025 R.I.Chalmers (V2Melody).
All music on this site by R.I.Chalmers (V2Melody) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Attribution Requirement:
When using this music, you must give appropriate credit by including the following statement (or equivalent) wherever the music is used or credited:
“Music by R.I.Chalmers (V2Melody) – https://v2melody.com”
Support My Work:
If you enjoy this music and would like to support future creations, donations are always welcome but never required.
Donate