19 pages • 38 minutes read
Elizabeth BishopA Miracle for Breakfast
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1972A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Different Meanings of a Miracle
The title of the poem produces one of its primary themes: Miracles. Aside from the title, the word first appears in the simile when the speaker says the breakfast will “be served from a certain balcony / —like kings of old, or like a miracle” (Lines 3-4). Here, the theme of miracles maintains a hierarchy. A miracle occurs after the mention of “kings” and thus, speaks to the power of the miracle. Instead of a throne, the miracle has a balcony. From this high-up position, a miracle for breakfast makes its way down to those with few privileges and resources—people “waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb” (Line 2).
Next, the theme of miracles takes on a transformational quality, as the speaker and others hope the “crumb / would be a loaf each, buttered, by a miracle” (Lines 10-11). The miracle, hypothetically, can turn the tiny crumb into a big loaf of buttered bread due to its supernatural powers. The coffee and roll maintain the potential to become something more than they are when a servant gives the man on the balcony the “makings of a miracle” (Line 15). Yet the anticipated transformation fails. The miracle never arrives; the crowd receives only “one rather hard crumb” (Line 21) and “one drop of coffee” (Line 23).
The vision of the “beautiful villa” (Line 22) is “not a miracle” (Line 21) because it’s not a product of spiritual or otherworldly force. The speaker conjured the image with “one eye close to the crumb” (Line 30). In other words, the grand residence can’t be a miracle since the speaker’s imagination brought it into being. Yet the speaker says, “My crumb / my mansion, made for me by a miracle” (Lines 31-32). Together, the crumb and the mansion equal a miracle since they come about “through ages, by insects, birds, and the river / working the stone” (Lines 33-34). How these things come together to give the speaker their crumb/mansion is hard to grasp and understand; it’s wondrous and awe-inspiring and arguably counts as a miracle.
Isolation and Anonymity
Another theme that runs throughout the poem is isolation and anonymity. None of the people in the poem have names or speak to one another. There is no community and there are no proper nouns. The pronoun “we” (Line 1) indicates the speaker and any number of people. Immediately, the speaker becomes lost in the crowd even though they have to speak for the crowd because someone has to tell the reader what’s happening. Yet the speaker remains nondescript—they don’t directly divulge any revealing information about themselves. Presumably, the speaker joins the crowd to receive the breakfast, so perhaps the speaker needs charity too.
The balcony reinforces the theme of isolation since it separates the man from the people below. They’re physically not on the same level. The speaker pushes the man further away from the people when they describe him with his head “in the clouds—along with the sun” (Line 18). The man doesn’t speak to the crowd or the servant, which bolsters his isolation. Neither the man nor the servant have names, so despite their titles, they’re anonymous.
The speaker doubles downs on their isolation; their vision of the villa removes them and puts them in a luxurious but nameless place where there’s “gallons of coffee” (Line 36). During Stanza 5 and Stanza 6, the speaker stands apart, absorbed by their image. In Stanza 7, the speaker returns from their isolation and reenters the alienating breakfast. “We licked up the crumb and swallowed the coffee,” says the speaker (Line 37). It’s as if they’re describing an undifferentiated, mechanical mass of people who don’t have agency and can’t communicate.
Suffering, Imagination, and Transcendence
The theme of isolation and anonymity relates to the theme of suffering, imagination, and transcendence. Presumably, the people gather for breakfast because they lack the resources to feed themselves. They need the man on the balcony to give them coffee and food. They “hoped” (Line 8) for a miracle; they wanted hot coffee and a buttered loaf of bread. What they got didn’t ease their hardship since a “hard crumb” (Line 21) and “drop of coffee” (Line 23) won’t provide much substance. Thus, the suffering continues, and some in the crowd express their displeasure by “scornfully” (Line 22) flicking the unsatisfying crumbs into the river.
The speaker, though, transcends the downtrodden atmosphere through their imagination. The crumb activates their mind, and they imagine a splendid residence with a “baroque white plaster balcony” (Line 28) and “gallons of coffee” (Line 36). The speaker replaces lack with abundance. With their vision, they receive a respite from the disappointing breakfast. Yet the break doesn’t last, as the speaker winds up with the crumb and coffee and watches the wanted miracle take place elsewhere or “on the wrong balcony” (Line 39). In the poem, imagination can help a person deal with suffering but only temporarily.
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By Elizabeth Bishop
