Eat me Flashcards
What does the title contextually reference
Lewis Caroll’s ‘Alice in wonderland’ which infantilizes the woman and brands her as easily exploited as she lacks female autonomy
What does the title’s imperative demonstrate
Demonstrates how the food she consumes speaker to her - this emphasises the woman’s lack off agency as she’s made a victim to an inanimate object
How does her being submissive to food portray the speaker
She’s not only dependant on her feeder boyfriend but is dependent on her food obsession to be ‘loved’ within her relationship as without it she’s easily replaceable.
What is the structure of the poem and what does it show
Strict ten tersest (three-line stanzas) structure, mirroring the oppressive routine imposed upon the speaker.
What does the rigid form show
echos the hands that mould and consume her as she as sculpted by her partner
What does the caesura show at the end of the poem
Provides a sense of finality which could demonstrate how the female speaker has left the constraints of her abusive relationship, however it could also show how she’s unsatisfied as her gluttonous ideals still consume her.
I was his Jacuzzi, I was a tidal wave of flesh, He was my cook
Cook is a necessity while a Jacuzzi is a luxury demonstrating that her only purpose is to serve for gratification and is a commodity rather than an individual with autonomy.
What does the structural chiasmus show
The jacuzzi, representing indulgent lust, becomes his downfall as he drowns in it. His excessive desire for pleasure leads to his demise, with the very source of his gratification turning against him.
Big girls, soft girls
Repetitive use of girls is deemed as infantilising which further emphasise how the male speaker is able to dominate and gain control over his partner
Big and soft impose definitions upon women putting them in a constructed framework
How does the male voice being echoed link to the poem
The fact that his voice echos through the female speaker’s voice demonstrates a deeper level of control—she is not merely influenced by him but is entirely shaped by his presence
Too fat be called chubby, cuddly big built
Demonstrates how she’s surpassed the stage that she’s aesthetically pleasing or desirable euphemistic terms but instead, she has reached a size that is framed as excessive, unruly, and beyond control. She is fat to the point that her body is no longer romanticized but instead stigmatized,
