Anorexic: Themes & Linking Poems

Anorexic: Themes & Linking Poems

“Anorexic” Themes

Obsession with Purity

  • Purity and its unattainable maintenance become a significant theme in “Anorexic”.

Personal Struggle

  • “Anorexic” presents the personal struggle of the speaker, involving mental battles and physical hardships.

Societal Pressures

  • The poem reflects on the expectations of society, including conventional standards of beauty, which contributes to the protagonist’s anorexia.

Power and Control

  • The speaker’s aspirations to attain control underscores the theme of power and control.

Body as a Battlefield

  • Boland uses the metaphor of body as battlefield to emphasize the internal struggle and conflict.

Linking Poems

“A Woman Painted on a Leaf”

  • This poem also explores themes of female oppression in society and unrealistic beauty ideals, similar to the themes in “Anorexic”.

“Outside History”

  • “Outside History” shares the theme of struggle with “Anorexic” although it approaches the topic through a historical perspective.

“Love”

  • “Anorexic” and “Love” both deal with the theme of power and control. However, in “Love” it explores the struggle for power in a relationship, while “Anorexic” tackles the struggle for control over one’s body and mind.

“The Journey”

  • Both “The Journey” and “Anorexic” use first-person voices which make the narration intimate and personal. As a result, both poems effectively convey the inner struggles of the speakers.

“Quarantine”

  • “Quarantine” and “Anorexic” depict the harsh reality of struggling individuals, exploring the theme of survival in adverse circumstances.