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 (particularly in lines 6-7) 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.
