--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is the poet who kills, Woman the…" description: "\"Man is the poet who kills, Woman the angel who eats.\" — Greg Bear" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/greg-bear-12310_angel_man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-ange_53058.jpg" --- # Man is the poet who kills, Woman the angel who eats. ![“Man is the poet who kills, Woman the angel who eats.” quote by Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/greg-bear-12310_angel_man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-ange_53058.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/greg-bear-12310_angel_man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-ange_53058.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/greg-bear-12310_angel_man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-ange_53058.jpg) > “Man is the poet who kills, Woman the angel who eats.” [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote juxtaposes masculine and feminine archetypes, suggesting men create destruction while women consume or embody the aftermath, highlighting gendered narratives of power and consumption. **In simple terms:** Gendered archetypes of creation and consumption. Key Takeaway Contrast of masculine violence and feminine consumption. Themes gender roles power dynamics creation vs. destruction mythology duality Mood provocative reflective Type aphilos aphilos When to use this quote - literary analysis - cultural critique - gender studies - philosophical debate - artistic inspiration Key Concepts archetype symbolism narrative metaphor Practical Applications - critical essays - thematic workshops Questions to Reflect On - How does this framing affect perceptions of gender? - What alternative metaphors could balance this view? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [A mighty good sausage stuffer was spoiled when the man became a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/a-mighty-good-sausage-stuffer-was-spoiled-when-the-man-became-a-poet/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Love manufactures every man into a poet while the fever lasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-campbell-praed/love-manufactures-every-man-into-a-poet-while-the-fever-lasts/) [Rosa Campbell Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-campbell-praed/) > [Memory is each man's poet-in-residence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kunitz/memory-is-each-man-s-poet-in-residence/) [Stanley Kunitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kunitz/) > [Great men are rare, poets are rarer, but the great man who is a poet, transfiguring his greatness, is the rarest of all events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/great-men-are-rare-poets-are-rarer-but-the-great-man-who-is-a-poet/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [A man is a poet if difficulties inherent in his art provide him with ideas; he is not a poet if they deprive him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/a-man-is-a-poet-if-difficulties-inherent-in-his-art-provide-him-with/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Hey, Babe." The man was a poet. "Hey." I was too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-clayton/hey-babe-the-man-was-a-poet-hey-i-was-too/) [Alice Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-clayton/) > [“Every man is a poet at heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/every-man-is-a-poet-at-heart/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [For a man to become a poet (witness Petrarch and Dante), he must be in love, or miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/for-a-man-to-become-a-poet-witness-petrarch-and-dante-he-must-be-in/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [The perfect man? A poet on a motorcycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-williams/the-perfect-man-a-poet-on-a-motorcycle/) [Lucinda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-williams/) > [One more royal trait properly belongs to the poet. I mean his cheerfulness, without which no man can be a poet,--for beauty is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/one-more-royal-trait-properly-belongs-to-the-poet-i-mean-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An exact poetic duplication of a man is for the poet a negation of the earth, an impossibility of being, even though his greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvatore-quasimodo/an-exact-poetic-duplication-of-a-man-is-for-the-poet-a-negation-of/) [Salvatore Quasimodo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvatore-quasimodo/) > [Let us define 'man' as a poet perpetually conspiring against himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/let-us-define-man-as-a-poet-perpetually-conspiring-against-himself/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [A man--poet, prophet, or whatever be may be--readily persuades himself of his right to all the worship that is voluntarily tendered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/a-man-poet-prophet-or-whatever-be-may-be-readily-persuades-himself-of/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [A poet who is a bad man is a degraded being, baser and more culpable than a bad man who is not a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-poet-who-is-a-bad-man-is-a-degraded-being-baser-and-more-culpable/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Every man is a poet when he is in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/every-man-is-a-poet-when-he-is-in-love/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More by Greg Bear > [Life on earth is hard. Competition for the necessities of life is fierce. How ridiculous to believe that the law of harsh survival would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/life-on-earth-is-hard-competition-for-the-necessities-of-life-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [It's kind of a misnomer about science fiction that science fiction is about anything other than people. It's about people doing stuff, sometimes doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/it-s-kind-of-a-misnomer-about-science-fiction-that-science-fiction-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“Nature is a bitch goddess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/nature-is-a-bitch-goddess/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“The sorrow never dies; it is merely pearled by time. No”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/the-sorrow-never-dies-it-is-merely-pearled-by-time-no/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Sometimes I feel like a beetle crawling through a fusion power plant. I can feel a certain amount, see a certain amount, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/sometimes-i-feel-like-a-beetle-crawling-through-a-fusion-power-plant/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Welcome to the truth of our world-a massive seed shot out to the stars, filled with deadly children. A seed designed to slay everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/welcome-to-the-truth-of-our-world-a-massive-seed-shot-out-to-the/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Apocalypse could not be repealed by the democratic process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/apocalypse-could-not-be-repealed-by-the-democratic-process/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“BBQ Grills There are a number of gas grills which might be obtainable to the market. Grill professionals from different manufactures point out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/bbq-grills-there-are-a-number-of-gas-grills-which-might-be-obtainable/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“You seem to like helping, taking care of people," he said. "That is admirable." "You enjoy being nurtured?" "Well, that isn’t all you promise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/you-seem-to-like-helping-taking-care-of-people-he-said-that-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [For years, even before 9/11, I've been trying to warn that the threat from amateur biolabs will ultimately turn out to be far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/for-years-even-before-9-11-i-ve-been-trying-to-warn-that-the-threat/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Nothing is lost. Nothing is forgotten.It was in the blood, the flesh,And now it is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/nothing-is-lost-nothing-is-forgotten-it-was-in-the-blood-the-flesh/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [To fight an enemy properly, you have to know what they are. Ignorance is defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/to-fight-an-enemy-properly-you-have-to-know-what-they-are-ignorance/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“the children were no longer fast gods, but pigeons in the head of a very quiet, dark bomb,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/the-children-were-no-longer-fast-gods-but-pigeons-in-the-head-of-a/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Once, poets were magicians. Poets were strong, stronger than warriors or kings — stronger than old hapless gods. And they will be strong once again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/once-poets-were-magicians-poets-were-strong-stronger-than-warriors-or/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“The blade of grass was alone. Together, they were alone. They were alone together. The ground of the Realm was alone. The blade of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/the-blade-of-grass-was-alone-together-they-were-alone-they-were-alone/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) [Explore all 55 Greg Bear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) ## More Angel quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [If I wer an angel,i would make all your wishes come true..but I'm only a girl a girl who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/if-i-wer-an-angel-i-would-make-all-your-wishes-come-true-but-i-m-only/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. "this is it", he said, standing by a small khaki-colored jeep."this car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/mooner-was-walking-around-laying-his-hands-on-the-cars-divining-karma/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 4,625 Angel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man is the poet who kills, Woman the angel who eats.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Greg Bear" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-angel-who-eats/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Angel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-angel-who-eats/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/greg-bear-12310_angel_man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-ange_53058.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/greg-bear-12310_angel_man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-ange_53058.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/greg-bear-12310_angel_man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-ange_53058.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man is the poet who kills, Woman the angel who eats.” — Greg Bear", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Greg Bear", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man is the poet who kills,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-angel-who-eats/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-angel-who-eats/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```