Eat Me - Patience Agbabi

Overview

• ‘Eat Me’ explores themes of power, control and consumption within a deeply unsettling relationship dynamic

• its about the life of an unnamed female speaker who is constantly being fed by her partner who wants her to be as large as possible

• the poem addresses issues of body image, objectification and dominance through an allegorical lens

Themes

• sexism/gender

• objectification

• dehumanisation

• power

• abuse

• control

Form and Structure

• ten stanzas in a tercet form = reflective of the ritualistic feeding schedule

• half rhyme and use of consonance and assonance = K, D, T sounds reflect the control over the speaker

• dramatic monologue

• use of enjambment = forces to read the nest line quickly

• end stop line = idea of routine and consistency (final stanza = shows the finality of death)

Tercet

• the very rigid form of poem helps to represent the strict regime imposed by the feeder and how it has become common place

• The structure creates a sense of uniformity and control, reflecting the rigid power dynamic in the relationship.

• The consistent structure mirrors the man’s dominance and the speaker’s entrapment within the relationship.

Title

• emphasises the theme of the poem

• imperative quality = the instruction calls out to her showing her to be a submissive character

• allusion to Alice in Wonderland the ‘eat me’ cake made Alice enormous

“When I hit thirty, he brought me a cake three layers of icing home made”

• The first line establishes the speaker’s passive role in the relationship

• The verb “brought” highlights the man’s control and agency, while the speaker is the recipient of his actions

• “Thirty” suggests a milestone, symbolizing societal expectations tied to age and body image, particularly for women.

• This opening introduces the motif of food as a symbol of control and excess, foreshadowing the oppressive dynamic.

• Contrast drawn between the violence of the word 'hit' - connections to domestic violence - and the 'home made' warm and comforting feeling this evokes = could mirror the contradictory and destructive nature of domestic abuse.

“The icing was white but the letters were pink”

• The juxtaposition of white and pink connotes purity and femininity, which contrasts with the predatory undertones of the poem.

• These colors subtly reference traditional gender norms and societal expectations of women.

• This description deepens the unsettling tone, as the seemingly innocuous details of the cake are imbued with symbolic significance.

‘then he asked me to get up’

• the pronoun 'he' gives a mysterious inconspicuous feel to the character we never actually find out his name.

• This could mirror the secretive nature of abuse.

• The teasing tone of the sentence shows the degradation and objectification of his partner for sexual gratification.

“I was his Jacuzzi”

• The metaphor reduces the speaker to an object, emphasizing her commodification and dehumanization.

• A Jacuzzi connotes luxury and indulgence, highlighting the man's exploitative pleasure in her body.

• This metaphor underlines the speaker’s subjugation and the grotesque nature of the relationship.

• possessive language = “his” further objectification

“too fat to leave, too fat to buy a pint of full-fat milk”

• The repetition of “fat” underscores the oppressive nature of the speaker’s existence and her entrapment.

• The alliteration intensifies the rhythm, mimicking the cyclical nature of her confinement.

• The phrase critiques societal attitudes toward body image while simultaneously portraying the psychological and physical imprisonment imposed by the man.

“hid breadfruit. his desert island after shipwreck”

• The possessive pronoun “his” reinforces the theme of control and ownership.

• The imagery of “breadfruit” and “desert island” evokes survival and dependency, portraying the speaker as his lifeline and resource.

• This comparison amplifies the man’s selfish reliance on the speaker while simultaneously emphasizing her isolation.

“multiple”, “masses” and “bigger”

semantic field of gigantic objects this hyperboles further demonstrates

“I allowed him to stroke my globe of a cheek”

• The metaphor “globe” emphasizes the speaker’s size, further highlighting the man’s fetishization.

• The verb “allowed” indicates a shift in power, suggesting her subtle defiance and foreshadowing the poem’s climax.

• This line subtly transitions the power dynamic, paving the way for the speaker’s eventual assertion of control.

“fat”

• The repetition of “fat” reinforces the obsessive focus on the speaker’s body.

• This repetition critiques societal fixation on body image while emphasizing the speaker’s objectification.

“girls”

repetition of girls can also be seen as patronising the women while highlighting her vulnerability by likening her to a child

“his pleasure to watch me swell like a forbidden fruit”

• biblically alludes to Adam and Eve committing the first sin against God

• reflects the sinful and immoral nature of what their relationship is based on

• simile

Enjambment

• blurs the boundaries between lines, reflecting the fluid yet oppressive nature of the relationship.

• creates a tension between the flowing rhythm and the restrictive content, mirroring the speaker’s inner turmoil.

End stop lines

• The frequent use of end-stopped lines contrasts with the enjambment, symbolizing the inescapable finality of the speaker’s situation.

• This juxtaposition heightens the reader’s awareness of the tension between freedom and control.

Feminist Perspective

• The poem critiques patriarchal control and the fetishization of women’s bodies.

• The man’s dominance over the speaker symbolizes the broader societal pressures that confine women to oppressive roles.

Post-colonial perspective

The imagery of consumption and ownership can be interpreted as an allegory for colonial exploitation, with the speaker’s body representing the colonized subject consumed for the oppressor’s benefit.

Psychological Perspective

The poem explores the psychological effects of power dynamics, with the speaker’s passivity reflecting learned helplessness and the gradual erosion of agency.