Burning a Book

The first four lines of William Stafford’s “Burning a Book” describe the physical act of book burning. In Stanza 1, the speaker of the poem provides a detailed description of a novel set ablaze, noting how the pages of the burning book are “protecting each other, right in the center” (Line 1) and “glow a long time” (Line 2) before inevitably turning to ash. The speaker’s description is methodical, chronologically detailing how the book burns from the moment it is lit until it smolders out. The speaker analyzes that “the cover goes first, then outer leaves / curling away, then spine and a scattering” (Lines 3-4). Stafford’s use of the words “first” and “then” (Line 3) creates a timeline, challenging the commonly held assumption that book burnings are nonsensical acts of passion through the speaker’s quiet and measured observations (see: Contextual Analysis “Socio-Historical Context”). The speaker never explicitly states that the spine of the book burns last because of the seams and glue that bind it together, but readers are able reach this educated conclusion by following the analytical process set forth by the speaker from the onset of the poem.

The imagery in the first four lines of Stanza 1 is specific and at the same time, minimal. The speaker avoids sensationalizing the process of book burning, initially relying on the sense of sight to describe the fire. The speaker omits other sensory details like the smell of smoke or the heat of the blaze as to not overwhelm readers, rendering the process of book burning as a slow one, not a spectacle (see: Literary Devices “Caesura”). Gradually, the speaker introduces new senses into the poem throughout the second half of Stanza 1: the harsh consonant sounds of the “t” in words like “brittle,” “faint,” and “hot,” along with the “k” sound in “make” mimic the noise of crackling flames (Lines 5-6). The word “hot” (Line 6) also describes the actual feeling of the flames, and the speaker’s proximity to them. The concrete imagery found in Lines 1-4 begins to break down by Lines 5-8 as Stafford leans into the abstract. Here, Stafford’s form speaks directly to the content of the poem: The breakdown of concrete language mimics the breakdown of the physical book being destroyed in Stanza 1.

Lines 5 and 6 introduce the concept of truth and lies into the poem, stating, “Truth, brittle and faint, burns easily, / its fire as hot as the fire lies make” (Lines 5-6). The simile “its fire as hot as the fire lies make” (Line 6) likens truth to lies, giving equal weight to each concept. Stafford examines the opposing viewpoints of individual value systems, devoid of bias. The speaker acknowledges that an individual’s personal ideologies and preferences alter what they perceive to be true or false. Therefore, when those ideologies are written into a physical book, texts from both sides will inevitably burn because “flame doesn’t care” (Line 7).

The flames are personified as all consuming (see: Literary Devices “Figurative Language: Personification”), destroying any book regardless of the ideologies held within their pages and yet, the speaker reveals “you can usually find / a few charred words in the ashes” (Lines 7-8). Stafford exposes book burning as an imperfect method of censorship because not only will one person’s truth be another person’s lie, but also because there are always traces of what was burned “in the ashes” (Line 8) (see: Symbols & Motifs “Fire”). The end of Stanza 1 shows that the existence of ideas is not wholly dependent on the physical embodiments of them, and argues that so long as it is shared between people, knowledge will persist despite violent attempts to eradicate it (see: Symbols & Motifs “Books”).

The speaker’s voice shifts from objective to subjective at the beginning of Stanza 2. The speaker asserts “some books ought to burn” (Line 9), using the affirmative to show clear bias on the subject of burning books—especially those that the speaker deems to be “faking it” (Line 10). Both the content and the tone shift here. The speaker does not go on to champion book burning in Stanza 2, but warns readers that “more disturbing / than book ashes are whole libraries that no one / got around to writing” (Lines 10-12). The speaker claims that public ignorance and a lack of original ideas are greater threats to society than book burnings. The speaker’s opinions become more nuanced as the stanza continues, claiming that if writing is a vehicle for the dissemination of new ideas, it is a greater tragedy to not write at all than burn the books that have already shaped society and its range of diverse perspectives (see: Themes).

The speaker laments that “whole libraries” (Line 11) of new and intriguing ideas are lost in “desolate / towns” (Lines 12-13) and in the “terrorized countryside” (Line 14) due to the willful ignorance of the public. The speaker purposefully uses excessive figurative language to exemplify just how much knowledge is lost because of the public’s silence. Stafford claims that silence is its own type of violence, halting societal growth and advancement for the sake of personal comfort (see: Themes “Silence as a Form of Censorship”).

The speaker describes the lack of articulated ideas throughout society as “unthought” (Line 14) a hyper specific syntactical choice alluding to George Orwell’s seminal novel, 1984 (see: Further Literary Resources). Orwellian Newspeak—the linguistic system within the landscape of the novel—promotes censorship by limiting language (1984, George Orwell, Harcourt, Inc. (1949)). For both Orwell and Stafford, limiting language limits rebellion, forcing every member of society to share the same ideologies instead of conceptualizing new and individualized ways of thinking, speaking, and living. Stafford uses the prefix un- in “unthought” (Line 14) to undo the action of the verb—the action of thinking itself—in the same way Orwellian Newspeak deliberately obscures meaning. The speaker continues, stating that “if a book / isn’t written, no one needs to burn it— / ignorance can dance in the absence of fire” (Lines 15-17). The ironic truth of “Burning a Book” lies in this very sentiment: One cannot burn what is not created. Stafford argues that passivity against the pursuit of knowledge is more dangerous than active methods of censorship like book burning because it is easier to ignore.

By the final stanza of “Burning a Book,” the speaker confesses that “I’ve burned books. / And there are many / I haven’t even written” (Lines 18-19) admitting complicity in the very process critiqued in the poem. However, more startling than this confession is the speaker’s inclusion of the audience in the final line of Stanza 3. The speaker directly calls out the actions of the reader, stating that while “I’ve burned books. And there are many / I haven’t even written, and nobody has” (Lines 18-19) exposing that every member of society is guilty of censoring ideologies counter to their own, attempting to create a world of comfortable lies instead of facing painful truths.