Unseen poetry question - Referring to Patience Agbabi's poem 'Eat Me' - how does the poet use language to convey an unequal male-female relationship?

With English Literature at GCSE, questions are based on set texts (novels, plays, poems) and sometimes extracts are given to aid answers. An example of such a question is that on unseen poetry , where students are given an unseen poem and are asked question that requires close reading analysis. When analysing poetry, I find it easiest to remember what to pick out using the acronym MITSL (which can perhaps more easily be remembered as 'My Itchy Toes Smell Loads') which stands for Meaning, Imagery, Tone, Structure and Language. I would advise a point is written by students on each of these poetic features, with a conclusion that ties all these ideas together, depicting the exact male-female relationship dynamic that the poems depict.Example points that could be picked out of the language Agbabi uses to present this unfair power dynamic include - alliteration, similes, natural imagery, repetition and fricative language. It is also important to note that this unfair power dynamic changes by the end of the poem, with the woman becoming triumphant over her abuser. He has fed her so much she is able to roll on top of him and kill him. The poem ends on a dark and sinister tone, as she states "there was nothing else left in the house to eat" - she isn't going to eat him because he has caused her so much anguish but she could if she wanted to.

AH
Answered by Amelia H. English Literature tutor

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