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Literary Devices
Form and Meter
The form of the poem matches the satirical presentation of death by suicide. The compact look makes the poem look like a tiny object—a bauble that would fit into a person’s pocket. From one angle, the poem presents death by suicide as a material experience, so the poem looks like a commodity. The tidy form belies the unpleasantness of death by suicide. The difference between this form and the poem’s adverse content creates tension, helping the reader to see that death by suicide doesn’t look like the poem—it’s not a quaint experience.
As for meter, Parker doesn’t abide by an established pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. In Line 4, the reader won’t stress “and,” but they’ll stress “drugs” and “cramp” (Line 4). However, “cause” (Line 4) is up for debate. The reader can stress “cause,” turning “drugs cause cramp” in a trio of snaps. If they don’t stress “cause,” the line becomes iambic meter, where an unstressed syllable comes before a stressed syllable. The absence of a standard meter reinforces the casual, lighthearted presentation of suicidal ideation.
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