Theme:
The poem is based around fictional books and imagination, yet the persona is unsatisfied/disappointed with them and looks back on his life so he's ageing.
Content:
The persona recounts the kind of books he's read during three parts of his life.
Analysis:
The first stanza describes how reading helped him escape bullying at school. 'Cured most things short of school' implies that reading is a cure, a medicine that gets him away from real life. He lived his life through books, leaving reality behind. 'All deal out the old right hook' is as if the persona wants to be dramatic, tough and heroic like the characters he's reading about, but this is not compatible with the person who reads about them
The second stanza is about the persona moving into his teenage years. 'Me and my coat and fangs' suggests he's reading a vampire novel, and this is shows he's growing up. 'Had ripping times in the dark', wants to be a cool evil person. The persona takes an interest into women, 'the women I clubbed with sex!', a difference between the him who seems quite quirky and the brooding cool bad boy he wants to be.
The last stanza shows the dull nature of reality, and stops reading because he's realised the characters he wanted to be like when he was young aren't like his real self, 'the dude who lets the girl down'. 'The chap who's yellow', a pessimistic identification to himself. He realises he's no longer the star in his own show, just the supporting role and the nobody in the background. 'Books are a lot of crap' is a comical conclusion, that they don't provide him with great daydreams anymore because he knows he's a coward
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