Poem Analysis - Shel Silverstein1

Bear In There

By Shel Silverstein

The poem is skillfully creating a hilarious image of a hungry bear “attacking” a “Frigidaire”. The clever choice of words makes the reader actually believe that such a thing is possible. But probably, besides the funny image, the poet sends a deeper message by describing the inappropriate way of eating and drinking “munching the rice” or “slurping the soda”. So, kids, watch your table manners!

When reading the lines of the poem and the interesting rhyme we instantly feel happy, amused and playful. The poet successfully induces the feeling of joy and reminds us how great it is to be a child and see things in the most imaginative way. And if you pay closer attention to the arrangement of the lines and allow your imagination run freely, you can actually see the very shape of a bear with its arms wide open.

Although the poem is meant to bring the readers fun and happiness, the ending shows that, despite the amusing image there is also a certain sense of fear as the poet admits “it gives me a scare/ To know he’s in there”. So, the shift is obvious: imaginary situations amuse us but sometimes also scare us, especially the children.

I find the poem really entertaining and love the way the poet vividly describes the bear. So, I would recommend it to people of all ages as I believe it is important that we constantly remember how amazing it is to be a child or at least allow ourselves to see things through their eyes.