The Similarities Of Poetry And Drama

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Laura Aguilera Prof. Jonathon Appels English 102-26 4/21/14 Poetry and drama have their distinctive qualities. They both use figurative language to get their points across, but one is meant to be acted out while the other is not. No matter how they are compared and contrasted, they will always have one thing that will link them together. Poetry and drama share the characteristic of a theme. Although their genres are different, Federico Garcia Lorca’s poems and Suzan Lori Parks’ plays both convey a message at the end of their work. In Parks’ 14th play, “Father Comes Home From the Wars (Part 1)”, she describes a man who had been gone at war for so long that his wife never suspected his return. The wife, also known as “Mother”, claims that there should have been notification of his homecoming. The husband replies, “Maybe you didn’t open the letter. I don’t blame you. It could have been bad news. I see yr unopened envelopes piled up. I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you at all.” Throughout the dialogue, they both create a mental image of the same scenario that would have happened if she had been told that he was coming back. He mentions that in his scenario everyone would have welcomed him home with open arms. Unfortunately, the alcohol served would act as truth serum, and they would all call him a murderer or government pawn (Parks 42). In that play, there may be various themes. Two of them can be time or honesty. His wife must have concluded that he was gone forever and waiting was a waste. Patience can only jump so high until gravity gets the best of it. The honesty concept could be found where she vaguely talks about everyone’s dishonest reaction that would lead to the revelation of their genuine thoughts at t... ... middle of paper ... ...s a fundamental part about art. Suzan Lori Parks is perceived is a hard worker when it comes to using her talent. There are no days off for her. While teaching and going on her book tour, she wrote a play a day. Making time for all of that must have been hectic, but she did it. Even though not all of the plays’ ideas flowed, any accomplishment that takes a whole year deserve recognition (1). Lorca’s poetry is seen as dull and flat when translated into English, but when the original poem and the translation are side by side, they still manage to be captivating. The incorporation of musical knowledge was a nice touch on his work. Because he was also a playwright, some of his plays were found in his poetry as well. Readers can find repetition of nature-based imagery. He is constantly compared to Burns because of his realism, while he always admired Whitman (1).

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