The Joy of Cooking by Elaine Magarrell
IRONY: a discrepancy between appearances and reality
The irony is in the name of the poem. Upon reading the title of the poem, The Joy of Cooking, I was under the impression that this story would be about actual joys of cooking. Then, you informed us that it was about siblings; ergo, I believed it to be about a bunch of brothers and sisters playfully baking in a kitchen somewhere. I was wrong, of course. The poem is a little confusing. I cannot discern whether or not there actually is cooking of tongues and hearts going on or whether it is all just a long drawn out analogy of sorts. I have a stronger attraction to the thought that it is all an analogy, being that this is a poem and can't be that straight-forward. The first stanza is about the sister, who's tongue is being cut out and cooked. I believe this may have something to do with a sister who says a lot of things that she shouldn't say. I think the sister will not learn her lesson though, when the poem says, "...it probably will grow back" (Magarrell). The second stanza, however, is about the brother. I get the feeling that he has a bad heart that is cold and unloving. He is in need of a little more somethin' somethin' to make his heart a full functioning and loving heart. A few more spices, to stick with the theme of cooking. "My brothers heart barely feeds two" (Magarrell) implies that he can hardly sustain a relationship maybe.
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