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An analysis of Joyce Huff's poem, Hymn of a Fat Woman
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Hymn of a Fat Woman
Joyce Huff
All of the saints starved themselves.
Not a single fat one.
The words “deity” and “diet” must have come from the same
Latin root.
Those saints must have been thin as knucklebones
or shards of stained
glass or Christ carved
on his cross.
Hard
as pew seats. Brittle
as hair shirts. Women
made from bone, like the ribs that protrude from his wasted
wooden chest. Women consumed
by fervor.
They must have been able to walk three or four abreast
down that straight and oh-so-narrow path.
They must have slipped with ease through the eye
of the needle, leaving the weighty
camels stranded at the city gate.
Within that spare city’s walls,
I do not think I would find anyone like me.
I imagine I will find my kind outside
lolling in the garden
munching on the apples.
simile
sarcasm/humor
metaphor suggesting that women became obsessed with becoming thin and their obsession “ate” at them
biblical reference to Matthew 19:24, bitter tone
similes describe being thin negatively (pew seats/hair shirts are uncomfortable)
hair shirt: a shirt of haircloth, formerly worn by penitents and ascetics
reiterates the idea that being thin is non-indulgent and going down the “straight”/”righteous” path
first person
religious allusion to the apple in the garden of eden which was sinful - possible reference to one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony
loll: sit, lie, or stand in a lazy, relaxed way - paints the image of fat people lounging around lazily
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allusion to the garden of eden
hymn: a religious song or poem, typically of praise to God - ironic because the poet feels attacked by her religious because all of the religious figures are thin
shards have sharp edges, reinforces how society’s standards of beauty hurts the poet, also possibly how she feels shattered by depiction of saints
emphasizes the author’s feeling of being abandoned and neglected by society
humor - tone seems a little bit defiant and proud - use of words such as lolling and munching suggest that she believes that she and others like her should be happy, no matter what their size