Dirge (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Kenneth Fearing
- First Published: 1935
- Type of Work: Satire
- Genres: Satire, Poetry
- Subjects: Depression, economic, 1930’s, Economics, Death or dying, Money, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Economic conditions, Joy or sorrow
The Poem
A dirge usually is a poem marked by the heavy melody of death—a poem serving to remind the reader of his or her own mortality as it commemorates the passing of another. Kenneth Fearing’s “Dirge” has this characteristic, but it is carefully calculated to shock the reader by its clash in tone, substituting the harsh clang of slang for the usual and expected solemnity of the traditional dirge.
The poem begins with the description of a bad day at the height of the Depression. The numbers are backward, the stocks are falling, and the conditions at the...
[The entire page is 1556 words long]
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