"Rape Joke" by Patricia Lockwood (Essay Sample)

"Rape Joke" by Patricia Lockwood

"Rape Joke" by Patrician Lockwood is structured and formed unusually. Ideally, any standard poem exhibits certain poetic features. Firstly, paragraphs in a poem are organized similarly. Besides, lines in a poem depict stylistic devices like rhyme. Cases of some paragraphs having more than five lines, while others have two lines, are rare in poetry. However, a poem whose paragraphs are structured like any ordinary story could be unfamiliar. Rape Joke" by Lockwood is not what I think about a poem. Classical features of a poem, such as evenly-sized paragraphs and rhyming ending words, were not reflected in the poem.
The line 'this rape joke is practically writing itself" is one example of humor that creates the poem's power. Here, Lockwood implies that the entire experience of the rape victim is interesting enough, such that a person does not need to add anything when narrating it. A joke comes out automatically by just telling the experience of the victim. Also, the line 'the joke is he said he didn't know, like what else would a rape joke say (Awl1)", as humorous it could be, represents a feeling of betrayal to the victim of rape. The idea that a rapist could disown his or her actions is regrettable.