Eat me

• Themes


  • Sexism
  • Objectification
  • Dehumanisation
  • Power
  • Abuse
• Structure


  • There are a total of ten tercet stanzas, which adds to the overall regimented mood.
  • There is assonance between the final words on the first and third lines of each stanza, such as “cake” and “weight”, with an alternative form of assonance in each line which breaks from the traditional idea of using rhyme. This is a very interesting rhyme scheme for a reader because it enables variety of language while still maintaining a sense of conformity and expectations, potentially echoing the expectations of the feeder.
• "When I hit thirty, he bought me a cake, three layers of icing.."


  • Ambiguous - thirty could either reference the age or the weight
  • 'He' is constantly referenced but never introduced - suggests he has the power as some sort of god-like figure
  • 'Cake' introduces the idea of gluttony - 'three layers' is hyperbolic as all things are in this poem
  • Also foreshadows the structure of the poem - three lines per poem implies she has been given a cake every year from thirty to forty, suggested by the ten stanzas
• "so he could watch my broad belly wobble, hips judder like a juggernaut"


  • The gruesome nature of the man’s behaviour emerges more strongly. This sexual display is uncomfortable to read. It objectifies the speaker, a woman whose appearance is grossly unhealthy and is there purely for the gratification of her partner.
  • Assonantly-rhymed ‘judder like a juggernaut’ and alliteration in ‘bed’, ‘broad’ and ‘belly’. These devices create rhythm and unity; but also an unsettling dark humour.
• "I was his jacuzzi. But he was my cook"

  • These metaphors indicate their roles within the relationship. To her he is a cook – he provides her food, something you need in order to stay alive and therefore she is reliant on him.
  • In contrast, to him she is a Jacuzzi – water tamed for his pleasure. It is comfortable for him until he drowns in it. In reality they are not equal as his role is to his own benefit, whilst hers is undermining and servile.
• "beached whale" "jacuzzi" "tidal wave"


  • Lexical field of water - suggests her vastness and the fact that she is stuck
  • Metaphors are increasingly hyperbolic
• "He said Open wide, poured olive oil down my throat"

  • This is clearly a man who gives orders and is accustomed to being obeyed. The obsession with fattening her is blatant; without subtlety. He doesn’t even pretend to give her a pleasant-tasting cake. Instead, this pouring of oil is a metaphor for extreme physical abuse.
  • Assonant ‘o’s could imitate the sound of choking.
• "I rolled and he drowned in my flesh. I drowned his dying sentence out"


  • Her reaction, her decision to suffocate him, is understated and chilling and, by implication, utterly justified. Her resolve is emphasised by the repetition of ‘roll’ and ‘drowned’. His ‘dying sentence’ is ironic, the noun ‘sentence’ being ambiguous, as if she is a court of law deciding his fate.
  • Use of semantic field of water finishes as she 'drowns' him - he is killed because of what he created
• "There was nothing else left in the house to eat"

  • The final line is open to interpretation. implies that she can start a new life without endless, dangerous food.
  • But she has been spiritually damaged, so it could also imply that he has robbed her of the only thing she has known for the duration of their relationship. She is therefore left with spiritual emptiness. This is true to reality in that abused women often still love their abusers after they have parted or the man has died. She has become so spiritually diminished by him that there is a question over whether she can rebuild her life.