On Poetry In The Book "Room" (Spoiler Alert)

The book Room includes three poetry quotes, all delivered by a therapist named Dr. Clay.

The story is told by a five year old boy who was locked and hidden in the sound proof shed he was born in, but doesn't realize how horrible his situation was because his mother (who had been abducted and "kept") protected and loved him so well - and because he never knew anything else.

Jack turns five in the opening lines of the book.

"Today I am five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra. Before that I was three, then two, then one, then zero.'Was I minus numbers?'"

The first time Dr Clay uses an apt part of a poem to reflects back what he's hearing he says, "World is suddener than we fancy it," in response to little Jack's explaining that out it the world he doesn't like "sudden things." Jack's reaction to the quote is, "Huh?" (the usual human response to poetry). Dr. Clay says, "Sorry, just a line from a poem" (the usual response when one can't help but cite poetry.")

On another occasion Clay cites, "Human kind cannot bear very much reality," after Jack gets bitten by a bee that he stroked, and complains that the bees he saw on TV when he was in confinement never stung him. This time Jack asks him, "Is that a poem again?" and Clay replies,"How did you guess?" And Jack says, "You do a weird voice."

Late in the story Ma (we are never told another name for her) explains to Dr. Clay that, "All those years, I was craving company, but now I don't seem up to it." The good doctor says, "The Soul selects her own society - Then - shuts the Door - " Jack tells us readers, "That's his poem voice."

I really appreciated this piece of the book, the organic use of memorized and well digested poetry in life.