16.6.11

Dramatic Monologue vs. Villanelle

 The dramatic monologue and the villanelle are probably unknown to those who haven't taken a course in English Literature, and I feel that its time to change that, and obviously the best way to do that would be to see which one would win if forms of poetry could fight, which I know they can (my psychiatrist disagrees...). Where was I? Oh yes, the dramatic monologue. Dramatic monologues are usually quite long pieces (not epic long, but longer than a sonnet), which are spoken from the perspective of someone, called the speaker, which reflect an emotional time in their life. So in simple terms, the facebook status of every angsty teenager around...
These events can range in severity from growing old, to being a seriously deranged psychopathic killer. Usually the language is commendable, the poems interesting.  Now villanelles, are a little more complicated, they are derived from French poetry ( just another example of the English trying to be better than the French-they can't get over the Battle of Hastings, clearly) and the main aspect of villanelles is that every line has to be one of two rhymes. Yes a whole poem, with only 2 possible rhymes. C'mon that's got to be difficult. I guess that's why most villanelles end in words with A LOT of rhymes, like day, night, or so, and why the language is simple. These poems usually don't tell a story, but rather express a single thought or emotion. So..
Who would win?
Dramatic Monologue
In a ring, I think that the dramatic monologue would just confuse the villanelle with its many words and story-telling. The villanelle would get confused and shout "But that doesn't rhyme! You can't do that!", and promptly be so upset that it would knock itself out.

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