1. The Diet carol ann duffy
Lorena Lorenzo

3. The diet worked like a dream
The diet worked like a dream. No sugar, salt, dairy, fat, protein, starch or alcohol. By the end of week one, she was half a stone shy of ten and shrinking, skipping breakfast, lunch, dinner, thinner; a fortnight in, she was eight stone; by the end of the month, she was skin and bone She starved on, stayed in, stared in the mirror, svelter, slimmer. The last apple aged in the fruit bowl, untouched. The skimmed milk soured in the fridge, unsupped. Her skeleton preened under its tight flesh dress. She was all eyes, all cheekbones, had guns for hips. Not a stitch in the wardrobe fitted

4. What passed her lips. Air, water
What passed her lips? Air, water. She was Anorexia's true daughter, a slip of a girl, a shadow, dwindling away. One day, the width of a stick, she started to grow smaller - child-sized, doll- sized, the height of a thimble. She sat at her open window and the wind blew her away Seed small, she was out and about, looking for home. An empty beer bottle rolled in the gutter. She crawled in, got drunk on the dregs, started to sing, down, out, nobody's love. Tiny others joined in. They raved all night. She woke alone, head splitting, mouth dry, hungry and cold, and made for the light

5. She found she could fly on the wind, could breathe, if it rained, underwater. That night, she went to a hotel bar that she knew and floated into the barman's eye. She slept for hours, left at dawn in a blink, in a wink, drifted away on a breeze. Minute, she could suit herself from here on in, go where she pleased She stayed near people, lay in the tent of a nostril like a germ, dwelled in the caves of an ear. She lived in a tear, swam clear, moved south to a mouth, kipped in the chap of a lip. She loved flesh and blood, wallowed in mud under fingernails, dossed in a fold of fat on a waist

6. But when she squatted the tip of a tongue, she was gulped, swallowed, sent down the hatch in a river of wine, bottoms up, cheers, fetched up in a stomach just before lunch. She crouched in the lining, hearing the avalanche munch of food, then it was carrots, peas, courgettes, potatoes, gravy and meat. 49 Then it was sweet. Then it was stilton, roquefort, weisslacker-kase, gex; it was smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, hot boiled ham, plum flan, frogs' legs. She knew where she was all right, clambered onto the greasy breast of a goose, opened wide, then chomped and chewed and gorged; inside the Fat Woman now, 56 trying to get out.

7. The Diet- Mark up
The diet worked like a dream. No sugar, salt, dairy, fat, protein, starch or alcohol. By the end of week one, [she was half a stone] // shy of ten and [shrinking, * skipping* breakfast, lunch, dinner,* thinner;*] a fortnight in, she was // eight stone;* [by the end of the month, she was skin // and bone.*] [She starved* on, stayed* in, stared* in // the mirror, svelter,* slimmer*]. [The last apple // aged in the fruit bowl, untouched. The skimmed milk // soured in the fridge, unsupped] [Her skeleton preened // under its tight flesh dress. She was all eyes, all cheekbones, had guns for hips.] Not a stitch // in the wardrobe fitted
Mark Up Key:
Listing
Enjambment (//)
Diction
Hyperbole
Enumeration (__)
Metaphor
Rhyme*
Alliteration
[Imagery]

8. [What passed her lips. Air, water. ] She was Anorexia's true daughter,
[What passed her lips? Air, water.*] She was Anorexia's true daughter,*[ a slip // of a girl, a shadow, dwindling away.] One day, [the width of a stick,] she [started to grow smaller – // child-sized,* doll-sized,* the height of a thimble.] She sat at her open window [and the wind // blew her away. ] 21 Seed small, [she was out* and about*, looking for home.] An empty beer bottle rolled // in the gutter. She crawled in*, got drunk on the dregs, started to sing*, down, out, nobody's love. Tiny others // joined in. They raved all night. She woke alone*, head splitting, mouth dry, hungry and cold*, and made // for the light. 28

9. [She found she could fly on the wind, could breathe, if it rained, underwater.] That night, she went to a hotel bar that [she knew and floated into // the barman's eye. She slept for hours,] left at dawn // in a blink,* in a wink,* [drifted away on a breeze.] Minute, she could suit herself from here on in, go // where she pleased
[She stayed near people, lay in the tent of a nostril like a germ, dwelled // in the caves of an ear.] [She lived in a tear,* swam // clear,* moved south* to a mouth,* kipped in the chap // of a lip. She loved flesh and blood, wallowed // in mud under fingernails, dossed in a fold of fat // on a waist. ]

10. [But when she squatted the tip of a tongue, she was gulped, swallowed, sent down the hatch // in a river of wine, bottoms up, cheers, fetched up // in a stomach just before lunch. She crouched // in the lining, hearing the avalanche munch of food, then it was carrots, peas, courgettes, potatoes, gravy and meat. ] 49 [Then it was sweet. Then it was stilton,* roquefort, weisslacker-kase, gex; it was smoked salmon* // with scrambled eggs, hot boiled ham, plum flan, frogs‘ // legs. She knew where she was all right, clambered // onto the greasy breast of a goose, opened wide, then // chomped and chewed and gorged; inside the Fat // Woman now, 56 trying to get out. ]

11. The Diet- Form 8 stanzas 7 lines 7-12 syllables per stanza
Except last line of stanzas, 2-5 syllables
30 cases of enjambment
No end rhyme
Free verse
Rhyme scheme
Third person

12. The Diet- Literal Meaning
Teen or young woman
Decided to not eat
She loses a lot of weight
Trying to adapt to society
Loses control of diet
Loses control of herself and deregulates diet

13. The Diet- Figurative Meaning
Insecurity within women
Struggling to keep her identity
Loses herself in the process of the diet
Tone : Disappointed
Society and the girl

14. “Nobody’s love.” (line 25)
Diction & Metaphors
Diction
Girl losing weight
“Shrinking” (line 4)
“Thinner” (line 5)
“Slimmer” (line 9)
“..A slip of a girl..” (lines 16-17)
“Fly” (line 29)
“Floated” (line 31)
“Dregs” (line 24)
“Nobody’s love.” (line 25)
Girl losing her identity
“half a stone” (line 3)
“Skeleton” (line 11)
“A shadow” (line 17)
“Dwindling away.” (line 17)
“…height of a thimble.” (line 19)
“Seed small” (line 22)

15. Diction & Metaphors Metaphors
“…preened under its tight flesh dress.” (lines 10-11)
“had guns for hips” (line 11)
“…the width of a stick” (line 18)
“..started to grow smaller- child-sized, doll-sized” (lines 18-19)
“…drifted away on a breeze.” (line 33)
“…lay in the tent of a nostril like a germ” (line 37)

16. Imagery Visual Imagery
“…by the end of the month, she was skin and bone.” (lines 6-7)
“She starved on, stayed in, stared in the mirror, svelter” (lines 8-9)
“She was all eyes, all cheekbones” (lines 11-12)
“…she was out and about, looking for home.” (lines 22-23)
“She stayed near people.” (line 36)
“…gulped, swallowed, sent down the hatch in a river of wine.” (lines 44-45)
“…the avalanche munch of food” (line 47)
Gustatory Imagery
“…Roquefort, weisslacker-kase, gex” (line 51)
“…greasy breast of a goose.” (line 54)

17. Enjambment Enjambment
She stayed near people, lay in the tent of a nostril like a germ, dwelled// in the caves of an ear. She lived in a tear, swam // clear, moved south to a mouth, kipped in the chap // th Stanza of a lip. She loved flesh and blood, wallowed // in mud under fingernails, dossed in a fold of fat // on a waist.
Then it was sweet. Then it was stilton, roquefort, weisslacker-kase, gex; it was smoked salmon // with scrambled eggs, hot boiled ham, plum flan, frogs‘ // legs. She knew where she was all right, clambered // th Stanza onto the greasy breast of a goose, opened wide, then // chomped and chewed and gorged; inside the Fat //
Woman now,
trying to get out.

18. Discussion Questions
How does this poem relate to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey?
Would the poem have been more effective showing its the main idea if it had been written in first person?

19. Bibliography
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