In “Hate Poem,” Sheehan explores the complex dynamic of the long-term romantic relationship. Set in the hours following their “latest row” (Line 21), the poem features two characters: the speaker, who revels in the hate she feels for her partner, and the partner, with whom she seems to have a long history. Though the poem at first seems aggressively angry, readers can see through the petty silliness of the speaker’s descriptions and the humor with which she approaches her overwhelming annoyance with her partner that the relationship thrives on the pair’s mismatch.

The opening stanza seems to open in seriousness, curtly asserting “I hate you truly. Truly I do” (Line 1), confidently and getting right to the point. However, that assertion is slightly destabilized by the back-to-back repetition of the word “truly,” which gives some indication that the speaker is perhaps trying to convince herself of the intensity and reality of this hatred. In the following lines, Sheehan introduces humor into the poem. As the speaker lists all the different ways her body hates her partner, the absurdity of these images acts against the seeming uncompromising meaning of the word “hate.