Laertes has groupies, proof he has taste,
has cool. Wears skate-board clothes: elephant pants,
the crotch snagging his knees, tent-size tee-shirt.
He wants the play staged at a roller rink:
him, Fortinbras, and me wearing in-lines,
the rest in quads. And instead of a duel,
we throw ourselves a roller-derby brawl.
Why not? Do something with a little class
to offset the end’s cartoon slaughter house.
Hamlet Off-Stage: Laertes Cool
Analysis, meaning and summary of D.C. Berry's poem Hamlet Off-Stage: Laertes Cool
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by D.C. Berry better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
The juxtaposition of the words “cartoon” and “slaughter-house” create an oxymoronic image that retro-envelopes the entire poem. If I were to steal an image, it would be, “the crotch snagging the knees.” But, I would probably be placing the image between a young man and a woman. Nice tight work, Dr. Berry.