“Hate Poem” is written in Free Verse, without a rhyme scheme or visible stanza structure. The poem is a monologue, written as if spoken aloud, in a relatively conversational tone that is sometimes succinct, and sometimes organic. The poem’s longer stanzas have an uneven number of lines (five, six, four, and seven), and are punctuated with two shorter, one-line stanzas. The first one-line stanza is a comedic device separating groups of images in the first and third stanzas. The second one-line stanza walls off the last two verses of the poem, which shift between the fifth stanza’s quick thoughts punctuated by the word “hate,” to the sixth stanza’s longer, more complex sentences with multiple clauses that span two lines. This has the effect of following a sporadic thought pattern, as the speaker recalls all the ways she hates her partner.

While there is no rhyme scheme, Sheehan’s use of repetition adds rhythm to the poem, with many sentences repeating “hates you” (Lines 3-6, 8-11) at the end, or simply “hate” (Lines 14-17; 21).