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Modern Poetry pt 2 (Please Hold (Ending:
"Please hold. Please grow…
Modern Poetry pt 2
Please Hold
Ending:
- "Please hold. Please grow old. Please grow cold. Please do what you're told. Grow old. Grow cold. This is the future. Please hold." = this is the final stanza that is separate from the rest of the poem. Because it is by itself, it places emphasis on this, showing the power of technology.
- Cyclical structure shows the inescapability of this evolution. This is the voice of the automated program showing they have the last word, emphasising their importance.
- The repetition of the same words without the 'Please' shows the writer's fear in technology, that one day they will control us (imperatives). Also shows how we are at their mercy, the lack of please perhaps alludes to the breakdown in human interaction but also the impersonal nature of technology and automation in general.
- The repetition of the refrain suggests that human's value is based on being a consumer.
- Will always be holding because this it the future.
- Only line where it rhymes with a different word, showing the unpredictability of the future.
- The tone is cold and demanding through the imperatives, demonstrates the writer's feelings towards new technology and his frustration. Perhaps he feels as if he is edging closer to inexorable death.
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- "This is the future, my wide says./We are already there, and it's the same/as the present." = seems to be the voice of the future and voice of cynicism. Interesting that the wife begins the narrative despite her small part in the poem as a whole. Gives a sense of lack of control, hopelessness. There's lots of foreshadowing of the future and the idea that people will have to live like this forever. Implies a continuing sense of helplessness.
- "Please Hold" = connotations of being stuck or confined. False politeness of the operator. The first of the 4 speakers is introduced in the title as the operator- gives the power to the operator immediately. Places the operator and the main POV in opposition through the contrast of the title and first line. Multiple meanings: holding on the phone, holding onto his emotions, holding onto the present rather than moving into the future with its ever-changing technology. Seems almost critical or ironic that he's named it 'Please Hold', the line that angers him so much, perhaps reflective for of his cynicism and his frustration.
- Repetition of future and robot in the opening few lines indicates how society in continually trying to move forward.
- The language and structure of the narrative only adds to the feeling of frustration.
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- "goes money, my money, to pay for nothing. I'm paying a robot for nothing. This call is free of charge, says the mind-reading robot. Yes but I'm paying for it." = double meaning of nothing, nothing is being achieved on the phone but nothing because none of these things physically exist so it's debatable to whether they exist at all. Interesting comment on how technology has meant we often relinquish our control, a lack of ownership. The distinction of "my money" is claiming an ownership of something essentially digital, something impossible these days, also important distinction between the corporate and the individual. The repetition of "nothing" emphasises the fruitlessness of arguing with technology and the fight against technological integration. The use of 'mind-reading robot' is playful in its tone however also has layers of cynicism about the future of technology. Perhaps the narrator believes at some point there will be mind reading robots and this is simply thinly veiled criticism through the use of the metaphor.
- "you can say Agent if you'd like to talk to someone real, who is just as robotic. I scream Agent! and am cut off". = anticlimactic, breakdown in human interaction due to a reliance on technology. Ironic too as it shows how tech drives to drive out any humanity. Breakdown in humanity in general, humans are mimicking our own technology because we're so exposed to it so often. The juxtaposition of "real" and "robotic" is ironic because it shows the dichotomy between humans and tech however their proximity in the line shows the decreasing gap between us due to developments like AI.
- The language gets more aggressive as the poem continues with language like "I shout" "I scream" "fucking", clear sense of frustration for the man.
The Deliverer
Opening:
- "The Deliverer" = impersonal, no pronoun making this a more general experience. The definite article means that the experience is more open and general, suggests it applies to lots of people, all 'lucky' children in Africa.
- However it may imply indifference, thus the attitude towards and worth of young female girls in many parts of the world.
- Could imply the amount of deliverers through the impersonality, connotes the severity of this crisis.
- "came to collect children because they were crippled or dark or girls" the use of the triplet demonstrates the criteria for a seemingly acceptable child. Grossly dehumanising as it dictates the worth of human life based on arbitrary characteristics. The value of darkskin girls or those with disabilities is inherently lesser, deals with ideas of colourism, ableism, misogyny and racism.
- The repeated 'c' sounds and alliteration adds emphasis and sounds almost like stuttering, perhaps the nervousness of women around their male counterparts.
Language:
- "one of them was dug up by a dog" - slows the rhythm for dramatic effect, shocking line showing the dehumanisation they experience and the blatant uncaring nature of mothers and parents towards female children.
- The dull, blunt phonetics of the repeated 'd' sounds gives a sense of hopelessness, the tone is not sympathetic but apathetic.
- The use of the animal imagery and the child in the passive adds to the hopelessness but is also very visceral and paints the child as lower than the dog, worth less, almost like toy.
- "they haven't seen or touched her yet" - sensory imagery, however continues the notion of a critical gaze or of evaluation, seemingly continues the idea of inherent female inferiority, as if they need to be thoroughly checked and assessed before they're deemed worthy enough to take. Continues the objectification women suffer everywhere, may suggest that this is a global issues, not just places like Kerala, this is enforced by the dual setting including the USA.
- "but they are crying/ We couldn't stop crying, my mother said" - the use of direct speech finally shifts the POV a little, includes "the deliverer", alludes to the emotional experience this is for everyone and the empathy of women. the Deliverer wants all children to grow up well, seeing them be well received by Americans where they can be happy and well cared for, she cannot help but cry.
- The repetition of crying implies the emotions they feel, perhaps the idea of desperation in the western world. Perhaps a darker interpretation that the West only looks to places like Kerala if they cannot have their own kids, their desperation drives them to accept children that are rejected elsewhere?
- The repetition seems to expose the emotionlessness of those in Kerala who have desensitised the experience.
Ending + structure:
- The mix of structures in the poem is interesting, mainly tercets with the occasional single line for effect but near the end the stanzas shorten as it nears a close, appears a natural fading close.
- The poem has a decided focus on women, men are mentioned only near the end explicitly.
- The asterisks denote a shift in narrative and location but also a cultural difference between Kerala and the USA.
- Generally implies that in Kerala, a girl is discarded but in America she is a gift.
- "where mothers go to squeeze out life. Watch body slither out from body" - shows how they've purposefully desensitised the experience, it takes away the beauty and the miracle of life through the animal imagery.
- Grotesque and dehumanising depiction shows it to be almost like livestock, hence implying the function of children in third world countries, to work for the family.
- The animal imagery is almost an allusion to snakes, unpredictable and unreliable gender of the offspring? Perhaps implies the ruthless nature of the parents in their ability to be so detached as to throw away children.
- "toss the baby to the heap of others" - the ambiguity here is unsettling, literal and figurative interpretations, perhaps there is an actual pile of babies or it's symbolic of the volume of girls this happens to. The structure in these lines breaks down due to the speaker's emotions. Perhaps this symbolises optimism as it breaks the cycle of abandonment.
- "Trudge home to lie down for their men again" - the verb here has an onomatopoeia quality- slinking back into poverty.
- "lie down" has sexual implications- being impregnated or to lie down to the patriarchy. Woman's only use is to produce life.
- the use of "their" is ironic since the whole point is that females don't matter but their possessive pronoun designates the power of women.
- may suggest that men too are trapped by economic and social pressures.
- "squeeze out life...slither...toss the baby" - contribute heavily to the tone which lacks emotion and seems overall to be uncaring. Expresses the bleakness of the poem.
- The language and theme explored along with the personas which really lack depth deeply raises questions about the nature of familial bonds.
- The main theme of gender demonstrates that girls are the submissive gender and that mothers have been forced to have no attachment to their daughters. They're treated with a distinct lack of humanity, like objects.
An Easy passage
Opening
- "An Easy Passage"- suggests a transition- foreshadows the poem's meaning about adolescence, however irony because the poem itself suggests that the passage isn't easy, the general view of adolescence is that it's hard.
- Refers to a rite of passage?
- "once she is halfway up...trembling" - the poem immediately opens with the notion of transition.
- "trembling" the loaded adjective suggests a sense of fear, possibly in the face of adulthood from the childish mindset of adolescence.
- Could also be in excitement, the happiness of growing up with more freedom and autonomy.
- "narrow window sill, the sharp drop of the stairwell" connotes the quick transition between childhood and adulthood and the transience of youth. Perhaps connotes pain and the difficulty of passing through. The danger of outside vs the safety of the house.
- acts as a metaphor for potential dangers that are inherent in one's teenage years.
- she's in a "bikini" implies the sexualisation of the girl, who is experiencing physical change which can be scary.
Language
- "for now both girls seem lit, as if from within"- structurally significant time phrase suggests the future of the girl if not quite so positive - the impending promise of conformity.
- The bright adjective "lit" has dual meaning, lit in terms of light imagery- symbolising youth however also lit in terms of happiness and childish pleasure.
- "as if from within" the simile connoting being full of life and happiness, unbridled childish joy. Showing the power of youth albeit fleeting.
- "long grey eye of the street" - the colour imagery and light imagery helps to convey their delicate physical presence in the face of adulthood.
- Suggests a degree of judgemental banality
- metaphor for the judgemental gaze upon childhood from the perspective of jealousy. External pressure of strangers that lots of teenagers face.
- About being self conscious and soon to become paralysed by the gaze of others.
- "warm flank"- corporeal imagery suggesting the physical protection her parents can bring along with the emotional guidance and protection. This suggests that although she's nearing the age of independence and adulthood, she still needs the guidance and help from her parents.
Ending + structure
- one continual stanza = a flowing sense of freedom.
- no proper structure showing perhaps her future, it's uncertain and unplanned. Reflective of the very short transition between adolescence and adulthood, people hve very little time to prepare properly.
- lots of enjambment showing the freedom of her life but also the "easy passage" between lines and between phases in life- supports the irony of the title.
- whole poem is 5 sentences which may be representative of the burden of adolescence.
- Tenses: written in the present tense but with contrasting allusions to the future showing how we don't live in the present and everything is about the future especially for teenagers.
- narrative voice- the narrator remains non-intrusive for most of the poem, her POV is important as its conversational.
- "shimmery...toenails...which catch the sunlight briefly like the flash of armaments" simile= to defend her individuality like a weapon. May perhaps suggest that the girls are self-destructive or harmful in their personality. Or insecure and overly protective of their individuality.
- "shimmering toenails"- contrasts the "drab" of adulthood, a symbol of her freedom and childish happiness.
- "catch the sunlight" - metaphor which is quickly contrasted by the shade showing the freedom of childhood contrasted by the conformity of adulthood.
History
Opening
- "History" "Today". The title vs the first word is an interesting concept as it contradicts each other immediately. History suggests a past event or the notion of the past and nostalgia whereas today obviously means the present. Could be about a large scale event, which is immediately contrasted by today- confusing the reader. Historical significance of 911 which unlocks overarching meaning.
- "St Andrews: West sands; September 2001" - this is important because it suggests this poem is written after 9/11 with the tone and message of the poem. Almost about enjoying the freedom of being able to walk along the beach and even be alive while simultaneously being caged by time. Also may be an examination of freedoms one mustn't take for granted.
- "as we flew the kites/- and the sand spinning off in ribbons along the beach" = the kite may symbolise many things - the child, imagination, freedom, innocence etc. The lack of concrete symbolism and the ambiguity in what it may represent could itself be reflective of the unpredictability of everything, even of the present. By contrasting the past with the present Burnside appears to assert that the past is the only thing we can be sure of and learn from, the unreliability of the future and the present appears to be implicit within the linguistic choices.
- "sand spinning off in ribbons", the sibilance is foreshadowing of the future and the feelings of personal and political unrest following the 9/11 attacks. Perhaps is related to the common phrase "spin out of control" which may be referring to society after it.
- Spinning off in ribbons gives a very delicate image, perhaps suggesting that society is fragile or that peace is fragile.
- "beach" vs "gasoline smell" shows the contrast between manmade things and nature, showing the dichotomy of the abstract and the concrete.
- "quail-grey" sets a melancholy tone, further symbolises the notion of things being n limbo, in the space between black and white.
Language
- "today- with the news in my mind, and the muffled dream of what may come" The use of the definite article "the" may denote the allusion of 9/11, there is only this news, there is no need to explain which news, shows how this event shocked the world.
- "muffled dread" - together creates a sense of sinisterness. The use of dread shows the overall negativity of many at that particular time.
- The use of the modal verb "may" could suggest the uncertainty of many about the future, it suggests a level of distortion and a lack of clarity about both the events at the time and the future after them.
- "I knelt downi n the sand... finding evidence of life in all this driftwork" - reminiscent of praying in the sand. Perhaps looking for guidance. Most of the things in the sand are dead, showing how history rarely reveals living things or even positive things, The sea may be a metaphor for time or for history, it has washed up dead things.
- Perhaps even is a metaphor for discovering people in the rubble after 9/11, searching for the living in the same way as everyone is searching for positivity after it.
- "toddler" "transitive gold" "jamjars of spawn" - all things in a transitive state, suggesting the world is in a state of change and its difficult for the persona to reconcile the changing world of the present and the concrete world of the past.
- "captive and bright..transitive gold" semantic field of light, trying to find the optimism.
- "our bodies fixed and anchored to the shore"- the parents' awareness that they have little ability to protect their child against the horrors of the world. Symbolic desire for control and stability. Could be the feeling of being physically trapped and unable to escape in 9/11
Ending and structure
- The structure is highly irregular. Free verse being used to its full effect, with no consistency in the line length or stanza length.
- Can be interpreted as confusion but also the destroyed twin towers- broader shock, confusion and groundlessness of society. Perhaps also the destroyed and damaged lives of many, stretching into the future like the ocean on the horizon.
- The mix of stanzas may show the disordered thought and the fragmentation. shows how society is damaged by the memory of important events like that.
- The poem is dominated by ideas of uncertainty and confusion.
- Enjambment = loss and confusion, it slows the poem which gives the reader liberty for pauses. Makes it a unique experience, much like life, and perhaps hpw everyone is affected differently by large events.
- The free structure could be seen as the kite moving through the sky.
- The erratic structure is perhaps reflective of the collapsing reality in the changing society.
- "puzzled by the pattern on a shell" plosive phonetics here could be the ongoing struggle of society to make sense of the present.
- "a kite plugged into the sky" may finally give the poem some grounding, some stability. Trying to make sense of the world through connecting abstract and physical concepts. Could be society's obsession with normalcy - powerless to protect it.
- "through everything attentive to the irredeemable" - the fragility of life and the idea of society being enthralled by events such as these.
- Gives the idea that the child cant be protected, from time or history or "today".
- Could also be referring to nature through the "irredeemable" in its inability to be bought or sold or to really be definable.
- The last line comes off as repetitive because the words all almost all polysyllabic and the consonance, perhaps implies that history repeats itself in the future.
Material
Opening
- "Material" - material the hanky was made of.
- Writing material as a poet
- Materialism perhaps
- the material = memories and experiences that makes up the persona's life.
- Material being ambiguous as it was used for everything, the hanky wasn't only single purpose, she strips it back to its base in order to convey its impact and utility- perhaps shows how she considers the love of her mother and her upbringing to be more than just a hanky.
- It's ambiguous as to what this material refers to, showing how there's no guide to motherhood. this ambiguity surrounding how to parent and how to be a good parent stretches into every part of life.
- "my mother was the hanky queen"- a metaphor suggesting that mothers of another era, an older era were better.
- the use of the past tense is important as it separates her and her mother, proves that motherhood has deteriorated in the changing times.
- "mopping the corners of your grief...she'd have one, always, up her sleeve" - metaphor about grief, showing how mothers are supposed to be there for you emotionally, perhaps foreshadowing how she feels she's failed as a mother. It's a long term familial possession that provides more comfort and help than others in a materialistic world.
- "up her sleeve" suggesting like a magic trick, paints mother as magicians, capable of doing everything.
- The caesura around always only emphasises it, asserting that the mother was always there for her child in what they needed.
Language
- "sometimes more than one fell out as if she had a farm up there where dried up hankies fell in love and mated, raising little squares." - comic similes and metaphors suggesting the idea of raising children and motherhood. Perhaps suggesting that the maternal nature her mother possessed was evident in everything she did and owned.
- Also suggests that the persona is using comedy to deal with her own insecurity in motherhood.
- She feels inferior to her mother and her upbringing without noting that the world has greatly changed.
- This image is synonymous with tender and loving memories, suggesting that her mother was always more than ready to help her.
- "she bought her own; I never did" - the use of punctuation only adds to the contrast of the language, it separates her and her mother, places physical distance between them on the page as well as the distance between their parenting technique.
- "nostalgia only makes me old./ The innocence I want my brood to cling on to like ten-bob notes was killed in TV's lassitude" - This includes one of the shortest lines in the poem, emphasising this idea of the memory of her mother and her own upbringing only lead to further insecurities in her own sense of maternity. This contrasts the long, rambling lines of the rest of the poem. Signifies a change in the narrative and perhaps in herself. This is the change where she begins to talk about herself and the present.
- The end stopping shows how she feels very specifically, very final, no room for argument and demonstrates her displeasure and difficulty in accepting the present.
- The first verb in the present tense in the whole poem "makes" - symbolises the shift more acutely.
- The second part is a metaphor for something with no value. It also directly shows the contrast in time "ten-bob" vs "TV"
- This also expresses quite acute guilt, she feels guilt that her idea of motherhood is not what she experienced. How consumable the world has become, instead of taking them dancing or buying them hankies she's sitting them in front of a TV.
- "killed" very powerful, gives the notion that the upbringing she had isn't possible anymore.
- Also suggests that in mass media, innocence and individuality is sacrificed.
- "bought biscuits I would bake" - the plosive sounds reflect the persona's frustration with her own ability to be a mother.
- The conditional implies the difficulties she faces as a mother, implies that she cannot bake them, despite wanting to. Gives an insight into her life, suggests she works, perhaps is a single mother- either way cannot do it, not doesn't want to.
Ending + structure
- the tense change in the middle continues till the end- she continues to talk about her own ideas of motherhood however the shift remains from her mother to her- shows the progression of her life.
- "she would say, should i complain of the scratchy and disposable, that this is your material to with, daughter, what you will".- the caesura creates contrast between her and her mother but also exposes her as a daughter as much as a mother, causes her to think of her place as a daughter as well as a mother. This is her mother's advice to create her own identity and sense of motherhood rather than trying to emulate what she knows. The persona notes how her mother died leaving "tissues and uncertainty" rather than the handkerchiefs she was used to, suggesting this shift happened before her mother died, foreshadowing her need to adapt and create her own style of motherhood with the changing time and experiences.
- The sentimental tone seems to add to the idea of "raw material" of a person, suggesting the title refers to the material of a person.
- Each stanza (except the 5th) ends in an endstopped line which can be seen as representing the traditional structure of societal and the world in times gone by, with the one break being a transition from one type of world to the other. The hanky is used to link all these ideas of yesteryear and contrast together.
- The enjambment between lots of lines in the 6th stanza- 5th and 6th stanza are two sentences in total.
- The 6th stanza also breaks from the 8 line stanza structure.
- This disrupts the flow of the poem and marks a tonal shift to sadness tinged nostalgia.
- The symbolism of the handkerchief = the literal meaning but also represents ideas of past time and experiences with her mother. It symbolises motherhood in its entirety, but also the supposed quality of motherhood.
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On her Blindness
Opening:
- "On Her Blindness" - reference to the poem 'On His Blindness' by Milton. This is an important allusion as it defines the tone of the poem.
- "my mother could not bear being blind, to be honest. One shouldn't say it"
- The use of the possessive pronoun "my" and the nature of "mother" shows immediately the personal connection between the persona and the narrative.
- "Bear being blind" - the alliteration and plosive sounds perhaps shows the strong emotional impact of his mother's condition coming through in his speech.
- The homophone of "bare" suggesting the vulnerability of both the speaker due to his feelings but also the mother because of her newfound difficulty in navigating life.
- "to be honest" - a phrase that comes back suggests that handicapped people put on a brave face and don't reveal how they're feeling, the only truth of her feelings come out after her death.
- "one shouldn't say it", implies that society tends to keep quiet on such feelings, feels guilty for explaining her feelings. Negative modal verb suggests that he feels compelled to keep quiet, explains the experience of blind people, no discourse.
Language
- "bumping into walls like a dodgem" - allusion to the game perhaps suggests that if illness is personified as a game, his mother is losing. She cannot control herself in the same way, the hit to her pride that must be.
- The use of humour implies a sense of inescapability about her situation, they try to find comfort in the present through humour.
- This has an overt sense of social embarrassment of both the mother and the son, she's ashamed at her own lack of autonomy and he is ashamed of her inability to control herself likely.
- The supposedly humourous simile adds elements of dark humour and bathos- very emotive to the reader- tries to escape true feelings through humour, very human response to trauma.
- "golden weather, of course, the autumn trees around the hospital ablaze with colour, the ground royal with leaf fall."
- a semantic field of autumn- may be symbolic of his mother dying as the summer dies. Also symbolic iof the things his mother has lost- a missing richness of life that died with her sight. Perhaps it refers to her spirit, her enthusiasm and love of life dwindled like summer does.
- "of course"- the subordinate clause has an almost sense of bitterness
- "royal with leaf fall" - metaphor if mother is like the trees perhaps this is her lasting impact.
- All emphasis the richness of what his mother lost.
- Highlight the presence of imagination and also the difficulties faced by those without sight.
- "but it must have been the usual sop, inadequate: the locked-in son." - This is very anti-heroic, his own realisation is apathetic- he cant offer a solution or sympathy.
-"sop" adds tone of guilt and regret and self-deprecation.
- "inadequate" recognising his own short comings.
- "locked-in son" - lack of emotion, his own feelings about his inadequacy as a son. metaphorically repressed.
Ending + structure
- Couplets bar the last line - visually breaks up the poem and makes it harder to read at a normal pace = perhaps reflective of the hardships of the mother.
- Can be seen as more conversational and therefore more emotional - lack of end stopping exacerbates this feeling.
- Fairly consistent line length - shows the needed structure for her life?
- Final line was by itself = his isolation. Couplets = him and her so the final line symbolises his loss and his isolation.
- Inclusion of speech adds to the personal tone - very memorable.
- "it was up to us to believe/ she was watching somewhere, in the end" - suggests a lack of direction after her death.
- Goes from a couplet to a single line = him by himself after her death.
- It's a very poignant last line.
- "she was watching" suggests a comfort in death- a freedom for her now. In death she regains her sight. Particularly emotive verb since she wasn't able to do that in life.
- The overall tone implies that he's too cynical and upset to believe she is truly is watching, a sense of loss and bereavement.
- No return to the allusion of the title- perhaps the sense of nothing after death.
- The hopeful tone of the ending sets it apart, gives the idea of a eulogy as it strengthens the idea of happy times and memories.
Eat me
Opening:
- "Eat Me" = on a metaphysical scale, could be representative of how the 'feeder' although increasing the poetic voice's literal size, is dominating her self worth. Also her husband's fetish/ fantasy for a big wife/ malleable women. Mainly displays the issue of power and control. This is a fantasy like in Alice in Wonderland. Appears to be about feederism/fat festishism ostensibly. However, this has a deeper meaning of an abusive relationship - explores relationship dynamics and power.
- "When I hit thirty, he bought me a cake...a candle for each stone in weight" = Hit has a double meaning of weight or age. Sexual control through the idea of reward of gaining weight. The man's monopoly on her self image. The half rhyme between cake and weight creates a sense of uncertainty and claustrophobia. Candle gives a sense of celebration surrounding her weight, inversion of general dieting.
- "They said, EAT ME. And I ate, did what I was told. Didn't even taste it". = sexual control, blind obedience to the man therefore implying the overt control. She's desensitised and passive towards the control she experiences. The 'did what i was told' comment shows the power dynamics in the relationship. She's still following orders while thinking about herself, allowing herself to be selfish. Perhaps the omission of the subject in the 'didn't even taste it' shows how dehumanising she finds this experience to be.
- Foreshadowing the controlling nature their relationship will continue to take through the use of the past tense. Also the imperatives connoting control.
- The use of end stopping at the end of the first stanza may reflect the control he has over her, however the frequent caesura may suggest a degree of mental rebellion on the part of the woman.
Language:
- "watch my broad belly wobble, hips judder like a juggernaut" = the audible and visual representation of her size. A very loaded simile which creates an almost grotesque image of this woman who's become objectified.
- A really ominous sense of power within the woman, she can inflict damage but doesn't necessarily realise it yet.
- This has lots of alliteration and the onomatopoeic quality lends itself to the ominous phonetics which suggests the woman's strength in her size.
- "I was his Jacuzzi...my only pleasure the rush of fast food, his pleasure, to watch me swell like forbidden fruit." = an object of his pleasure. The metaphors surrounding her person are always painting her in relation to him- using "his" before them. The use of "my only pleasure the rush of fast food", shows that he isn't nice to her, she still appreciates the food which may be why she is weak and unable to rebel against him. The simile "swell like forbidden fruit" is very descriptive- religious imagery and also ideas of gender politics and ownership. Perhaps the idea of societal fat shaming and female body standards. Swell has connotations of being in pain or damaged or hurt, not necessarily a good thing, perhaps a result of the abuse he's inflicting. Could be a metaphor for actual abuse within the relationship where she's physically swelling.
- "His breadfruit. His desert island after shipwreck. Or a beached whale on a king-size bed craving a wave. I was a tidal wave of flesh" = Her isolation. He's generating the shipwreck in order to isolate her from other things, make her dependent on him and coerce her into staying with him.
- Lots of water imagery- submerging and engulfing, she has no strength of character. However, water can be powerful and unruly, her hidden power and her ability for destruction, both with her size and her will when she breaks down later- foreshadowing.
- "Tidal wave" metaphor is undoubtedly foreshadowing the future of her husband. It's quite a gruesome simile as tidal waves are powerful and deadly, this isn't a positive natural imagine, instead one of raw ability for destruction.
- All the language here suggests she wants to be free, the image of the shipwreck is created by him, she was attacked and colonised by him.
- Feeds into the post colonial view on the colonial authority (the man) on her body. eg "the globe of my cheek", the globe alluding to its rounded shape and thus her size but also the notion of the world and how her world revolves around him because it must due to his controlling nature. Also that his world revolves around her due to his blatant fetishisation over her image and her body.
Ending + structure :
- Dramatic monologue form. Use of the rigid form mirrors the strict regime and how it's become normalised. 10 tercets and the consistent use of half rhyme may suggest the constant battle between his control and her obedience but similarly her internal battle for self worth. The rhyme scheme aba could increase the sense of claustrophobia. The tone is melancholy and submissive- garners sympathy.
- "his mouth slightly open, his eyes bulging with greed. There was nothing else left in the house to eat." the break down in syntax as both lines end in full stops. Signifies the death of the man and their relationship. Creates a sense of unease.
- The shocking ending may even suggest cannibalism which may suggest that the woman was empowered by the eating and continued with the object of her hatred. The ambiguous ending leads us to question it, perhaps it's allegory for her next relationships and how she feels she will never have another being so large- societal expectations.
- 'Eyes bulging with greed' is ironic as it was his greed and his desire to see her get fatter that let to his death. May even suggest the pleasure he derived from even her violence, the perverse sexualisation with which he viewed her body and her identity.