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 sarcasm/humor simile shards have sharp edges, reinforces how society’s standards of beauty hurts the poet, also possibly how she feels shattered by depiction of saints similes describe being thin negatively (pew seats/hair shirts are uncomfortable) hair shirt: a shirt of haircloth, formerly worn by penitents and ascetics metaphor suggesting that women became obsessed with becoming thin and their obsession “ate” at them reiterates the idea that being thin is non-indulgent and going down the “straight”/”righteous” path biblical reference to Matthew 19:24, bitter tone emphasizes the author’s feeling of being abandoned and neglected by society first person loll: sit, lie, or stand in a lazy, relaxed way - paints the image of fat people lounging around lazily allusion to the garden of eden 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 religious allusion to the apple in the garden of eden which was sinful - possible reference to one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony
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.