4. Structure
Form and structure
The dramatic monologue is written in the first
person. Although it is directly addressed to
someone else, the content of the poem
suggest that it is actually a reflection of the
speaker to herself. It is written in one long
passage, with no pattern to the metre of the
lines. There is half-rhyme between each pair
of lines. It is effectively written in rhyming
couplets, but the rhymes do not match
perfectly – rather like the ages of the two
characters.
5. Meaning
Sweet 18 is an older woman talking to a younger
man, although it is implied that he cannot hear her.
She describes him, and it is clear that she loves him.
He is innocent and perfect. First of all she suggests
no-one would want to change that, but then she
talks about the temptations of breaking a perfect
thing. She compares him to a meal she would want
to eat. She decides, however, that she would not be
good for him, and that she would be a drain on him.
She tells him to steer clear.
It is not clear whether the love the speaker has for
him is maternal or sexual. It is a love poem, but it is a
love that means giving him up for his own good.
6. Imagery
The young man is characterised as being unmarked and pure, both
mentally and physically. He is "unknowing", and his skin is unmarked
by scars except for the innocent ones caused by trying to shave
"before there was any need". This innocence is picked up by the
metaphors that Pugh uses in the middle of the poem: the "shining
pane of glass", the "snow unbroken", the "canvas" and the "perfectly
set out" meal. This purity and innocence is contrasted with the
narrator: awareness "clouds" her face. The metaphor at the end of
the poem, that she would be "ivy" draining a "young sapling",
emphasises this contrast.
This metaphor also highlights the main point of the imagery of the
poem, which is the contrast between perfection and a violation of
that perfection. The extended metaphor of the meal over 8 lines in
the second half of the poem is an example of this. Moving a single
thing would "vandalise a gracious pattern", so any touch at all
would destroy the perfection. However, the narrator is tempted to
"learn/each taste and texture". There is a deliberate focus on the
sensual pleasure of eating, which moves from the metaphorical
meal to a more sexual one: "the warm flesh". This is still metaphorical
though, as she also wishes to consume "the mind’s crisp freshness".
7. Language
The metaphor of the meal contains
substantial alliteration and sibilance. The
mention of the "tongue" makes the reader
aware of their own, and aware of the
sensuousness of making the repeated
sounds, emphasising this aspect of the
metaphor.
