Domestic Space

The poem provides little specific information about the setting in which its actions occur. The mention of an “icebox” places the poem in the early twentieth century, possibly in 1934, the year of the poem’s publication (4). The poem, which confesses its speaker’s plum-eating, is styled like a note the speaker leaves for the addressee, and is probably “found” near the icebox in a location the reader and speaker both have access to, likely a home kitchen or cellar. Beyond these inferences, the actual text of the poem centers completely on the speaker’s actions and feelings, containing almost no locational grounding details. This omission is deliberate, heightening the poem’s specificity and focusing the reader’s attention on the speaker. By withholding details about its setting, the poem amplifies and emphasizes the speaker’s actions and feelings. The absence of a textually established setting also establishes...