Being the literary nerds we are, the first thing we did after watching Grand Budapest was rush home and type all of Gustave's wonderful verse into the internet to see what source material Anderson was drawing from… and what it could possibly mean in the larger context of the film.

Unfortunately, we came up empty handed.

That's because each of these poems is completely made up. Whether they are all supposed to be Gustave's (and other characters') creations, or are supposed to exist as poems by fictional Zubrowkan poets (similar to Boy with Apple) is unclear. Hey, though: a poem's a poem. We present you with all of these wonderful poem quotes—in chronological order—for your enjoyment

• "While questing once in noble wood of gray medieval pine, I came upon a tomb, rain-slicked, rubbed cool, ethereal; its inscription long vanished, yet still within its melancholy fissures—"
• "The painter's brush touched the inchoate face by ends of nimble bristles and, with that blush of first color, rendered her lifeless cheek living; though languish—"
• "E'en the most gifted bard's rhyme can only sing but to the lack of her and all she isn't. His tongue doth trip—"
• "A moist, black ash dampens the filth of a dung-dark rat's nest and mingles with the thick scent of wood rot while the lark song of a guttersnipe—"
• "'Twas first light when I saw her face upon the heath, and hence did I return, day by day, entranced. Though vinegar did brine my heart—"
• "'Tis oft remarked no single, falling flake does any other in its pure and perfect form—"
• "If this do be me end: farewell! cried the wounded piper boy, whilst the muskets cracked and the yeomen roared, "Hurrah!" and the ramparts fell. "Methinks me breathes me last me fears," said he—"
• "Whence came these two radiant, celestial brothers, united for an instant as they crossed the stratosphere of our starry window? One from the East, and one from the West."

There they are. We could happily spend all day analyzing them—that's what we pretty much live for—but let's talk about the big picture instead.

Each poem is, essentially, an exaggeration of the art of poetry. They use outdated language that sounds like Early Modern English, combined with blatant excesses in the grammar ("me thinks me breathes me last me fears," said he,") and imagery, ("A moist, black ash dampens the filth of a dung-dark rat's nest and mingles with the thick scent of wood rot…")

These poems are clearly a mockery of poetry: they suggest that poetry is a useless way of speaking in a modern world. In fact, you probably noticed most of these poems ends with the recitation being interrupted. There is no time in the fast-paced world of (then) modern Zubrowka for the laments and exaltations of old.

At most, these poems are a form of expression that allows for the characters to connect with each other and brighten each other's lives, like Gustave does for Madame D. when he recites a poem about "gray medieval pines."

However, we have to mention that Agatha's poem—the final one in our list—does manage to reach its conclusion. This is probably because the poem that Agatha recites comes at the time when Zubrowka is officially at war. Prior to the start of the war, poetry was seen as a kind of frilly, outdated art form. However, now that war threatens to eradicate the history and culture of Zubrowka altogether, older art forms like poetry are seen as essential to cultural understanding.