Compare the way that gender is presented in the poem ‘Box Room’ by Liz Lochead and one other
poem of your choice from the Forward Anthology.
Gender roles are critiqued in both ‘Box room’ by Liz Lochhead and ‘Eat me’ by Patience
Agbabi, however Lochhead appears to focus of criticisms of femininity in terms of an overly
protective mother, aswell as the stereotypical male, whereas Agbibi looks at the role played
by a male abuser, and in many ways the whole poem can be viewed as a metaphor for the
female struggle.
The speaker in both poems, appears to be a young female in restrictive environments. The
use of anaphora repeating “too fat” in “eat me” furthers this claustrophobic feel with no
sense of escape which is mirrored by the contents of the stanza “too fat to buy a pint of full-
fat milk” illustrating the physical constraints as well as the mental ones in considering her
escape from her abusive relationship. Furthermore the reference to “full-fat” milk enforces
that she is constantly under pressure and thinking about food. Similarly, the character in
“Box room” feels entrapped and oppressed by the past and childhood of her lover,
displayed by his mother that “on every side you grin guilted from long discarded shelves,”
the use of alliterative guttural sounds furthers this uncomfortable and hostile environment.
The structures of both poems help to create this further sense of entrapment, perhaps
mirroring the female struggle. Despite being masked by enjambment both poems seem to
have a rhyme scheme. In “eat me” this is ABA for each of the tercets, and “book room”
appears to have a AABB rhyme structure in most places, which is broken on occasion. This
regularity of rhyme scheme masked by enjambment illustrates the restriction that both
characters feel which in “eat me” is initially hidden by a relationship where the husband
provides for her, and in “box room” the “smiles all round.”
However, the lack of power that both characters feel is enforced by different types of
oppressors. In “box room” it is the mother who comes across of passive aggressive and over
protective of her son, with an underlying tone of hostility towards the speaker. This is
marked by the use of cesura in the first lines “first the welcoming. Smiles all round,” the
word first connoting a type of formal routine, lacking affection and spontaneity. Whereas
Lochhead focuses on the negative elements of femininity, in contrast, Achibi is much more
critical of the male. Although much of the description focuses on the woman, when he is
mentioned he is presented as particularly unpleasant an sinister, interjecting with direct
speech “open wide,” the use of imperatives illustrating his sense of dominance and control.
Furthermore the only description of his body is very unpleasant and parasitic liking girls he
“can burrow inside,” which has obvious sexual connotations as well. Lockheed’s use of
direct speech similarly enforces the domineering and intrusive nature of the mother which
is polit with undertones of hostility “it’ll all be fine I’m sure-“ the cesura conveying her
hesitance.
In both poems the speakers are objectified. “Eat me” consists of a lot of description focused
around the speakers body, perhaps addressing the harsh scrutiny that women receive from
society for their appearance. Furthermore, many of these images are cliqued “ a beached
whale… craving a wave” illuminating both her isolation and the debilitation of her size, but
equally foreshadowing her potential for power, as whales are fairly strong animals.
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