Little Beast

The first sentence of “Little Beast” touches on the theme of possibility. The barbecue lasts all night. There is no set end time. The barbecue is open, not confined, and full of possibilities. A night barbecue is different from a day barbecue. The night symbolizes darkness and danger. At night, anything can occur. In Lines 3-6, the song on the radio articulates all that could happen to the speaker and his partner at night. There could be love, stabbings, corpses, affection, and drinking. The options range from innocuous to lethal. The speaker and their partner could have a banal night. At the same time, they might wind up dead.

In Stanza 4, the theme of possibility pertains to history. The speaker and their partner don’t find their names in history. Outside of history, the speaker and their lover are free. The norms of history can’t confine them. They have the option to be anyone, anything, or to resist a stable identity altogether.

In the next stanza, Stanza 5, possibility manifests in the form of intimacy. The speaker desires to get his hands inside his partner and drive his body into his partner’s “like a crash test car” (Line 41).