Dramatic Poems

Poems where a character speaks to other characters, themselves, or the reader

Examples:

The Seven Ages of Man

Lord Randal

The Seven Ages of Man

~William Shakespeare

A poem within a play

• Poem is actually a speech by Jacques

• Character in play “As You Like It”

The poem employs an extended metaphor

• World IS stage

• Men/Women ARE players (actors)

• Roles, costumes, actions, playing parts: links theatre stage and life stages

• Entrances to stage =

• Exit from stage=

Infant

• Crying, puking

Schoolboy (childhood)

• Whining

• Unwillingly to school

Lover (youth/teen)

• Sighing like furnace

• Woeful ballad

Soldier (young adult)

• Strange oaths

• Quick in quarrel

• Careful to defend reputation

Judge (maturity/middle aged)

• Fair round belly, lined with chicken

• Severe eyes, formal beard

• Full of familiar sayings and trite examples

Old Man #1 (trying to look young)

• Wearing pantaloons, tight fitting trousers

• Old man but trying to look young

• Big manly voice turning again toward sounding childish

Old Man #2 (Senile/mental & physical losses)

• Second childishness:

• How is being old like being a child again?

Second Childishness

• Can’t take care of yourself

• Dependent on others

• Frail

• Possible reduction in mental capacity

• Trouble speaking

Mere Oblivion

• Forgetfulness, Senility• Reduced to Nothingness

• Sans (Without)

sans Teeth (fall out)

sans Eyes (go blind)

sans Taste (Dulled senses)

sans Everything---reduced to nothing

Reduced to nothing

• We come from dust and to dust we shall return.

Tone of speaker

• Cynical

• Humans are laughable, predictable

Timeless

• Shakespeare revered for his “timelessness”

• Outside of time

• His observations on human nature are Universal and Accurate

• Stand test of time

LORD RANDAL

~Anonymous

• Plot: Lord Randal returns home weary from hunting

• He has been poisoned and will die!

Format

• Each stanza opens with a question, question repeated (Mother)

• Seems reluctant to answer (Son/LR)

Clues• LR tired & weary

• Saw dogs die

• He fed them same food as himself

• Who dined with? Who fed food?

Synthesis of Evidence

• His TRUE LOVE poisoned him!!!

Two meanings for “Sick at the heart”

1. Close to death

2. Betrayed by his love

Explains actions

• Why unwilling to tell mom

• Humiliating to admit a betrayal

• May be in denial

Ballad

• Short, musical poem passed down by word of mouth for many generations.

Characteristics of a ballad in LR

1. Simple, not much detail

2. Starts in middle of story (in media res)

2. About tragic love

3. Few characters

4. Develops plot through dialogue

5. Anonymous author