Eat Me - Patience Agabi

Question 1

What is ‘Eat Me’ about? (4 points)

Answer 1

An audacious dramatic monologue which examines an extreme, twisted and unhealthy relationship of a wife and her husband

Metaphor for domestic abuse and how women become down-trodden over time, losing their will and capacity to resist

Draws attention to the wider context of media pressure on women, inverting what is usually regarded as ideal slimness

Shows the tense and sexual nature of the relationship between the feeder and the force-fed women to explore themes of gender, identity and power

Question 2

What is the form and structure of ‘Eat Me’? (3 points)

Answer 2

The poem comprises ten three-lined stanzas or tercets

The rigid form represents the strict control imposed by the man, a regime that the speaker seems to accept without question

Final lines of each stanza (except No. 6) are end-stopped, signifying control by the man on the one hand and compliance of the woman on the other

Question 3

What language and devices are used in ‘Eat Me’? (5 points)

Answer 3

The person who feeds her is addressed as ‘he’ - flat and accepting tone suggests submission to their dysfunctional relationship

Extended metaphor of food as a means of control -
a modern metaphysical conceit that represents a man controlling a submissive woman

Food is linked frequently linked with sex

Alliteration (e.g. ‘bed’, ‘broad belly’ in Stanza 3) assists the flow and gives emphasis

Various comparisons are used, for example, she is a ‘beached whale’, ‘breadfruit’, a ‘tidal wave’