Language, Structure and Literary Techniques
The title "Eat Me" cleverly foreshadows the boyfriend's ultimate fate - he literally gets eaten! Agbabi structures this as a narrative poem that follows a clear cause and effect pattern, showing how the relationship develops and reaches its shocking conclusion.
The poet uses enjambment particularlyinlines6−7 to mirror how the speaker's body overflows and expands beyond normal boundaries. In contrast, the final stanza uses end-stopped lines to create a sense of finality and show the speaker's newfound power and control.
Sound devices like assonance, half-rhyme, and onomatopoeia create rhythm and emphasis throughout. Agbabi includes rich descriptive details about food, setting, and the human body that make the imagery visceral and memorable.
Key insight The figurative language is particularly powerful - the boyfriend becomes a "juggernaut" (unstoppable vehicle), the speaker a "beached whale" (showing size but also her need to escape), and her desire a "tidal wave" (destructive force). The fruit imagery may reference colonisation, reflecting Agbabi's own background.