Dramatic Monologue

Sadie Burke from All the King's Men He would be nowhere without me,
Yet he forgets it too often.
Still, maybe tomorrow he will leave her for me,
Maybe tomorrow he will tell them all to leave forever;
But I know that is too much to hope for.
So I’ll show him my power,
I know how to get the job done.
And who will be laughing when he is lying dead on the floor,
Killed by an angst filled bullet?
I will. I will be laughing because I get the last say.
He cannot possibly love that bland woman,
But he and I, we’re a perfect match, courageous and powerful,
Although I may not have a flawless appearance like the others.
Perhaps this is why he cannot love me,
Because of an awful childhood curse in which I had no hand.
But yes, soon my plan will unfold,
And for just one second before the bullet pierces his flesh,
He will experience my fear,
Although it will stem from a different source.
He will finally know fear.
He will finally be human.

Allusion

Warren alludes to the Greek figures Cassandra and Telemachus through the characterization of Cass Mastern and Jack Burden within his work by mirroring elements of Greek mythology in the plot. Cassandra and Cass Mastern have a keen ability to foresee future events; however, both are ignored after attempting to use their knowledge to warn others. The author illustrates this point when he refers to Jack’s lack of concern after reading Cass’ journal: “or perhaps he laid aside the journal of Cass Mastern not because he could not understand, but because he was afraid to understand for what might be understood there was a reproach to him.” Eventually, however, Jack comes to understand Mastern’s spider web theory and adopts it as his own. Robert Penn Warren also alludes to the famous figure Telemachus by creating for Jack a plight similar to the Greek character’s. Each must care for his mother in the absence of their respective father’s. Initially, Telemachus resents the man who is able to accomplish the test that would allegedly indicate his true father; he is in disbelief and thinks that he could not possibly be related to the man. Later, he comes to the realization that the man is in fact his father and he begins to establish a relationship with him. Similarly, Jack Burden believes that the Scholarly Attorney is his biological father and hates him for being weak, but he later finds that Judge Irwin is his real father. Burden eventually accepts the idea and the two men for who they are.

Timeless Corruption (Found Poem)

You know what you need, but don't care about others,
Forgetting that we are all sisters and brothers.
Your words always feel rather bracing and tonic,
But you have no sense of foreknowing the ironic.
Your thoughts are unleashed like the stock of a whip,
From the glass of foul power, you savor each sip.
You continue to think that your strength is their will,
But your greedy desires you can never fulfill.
When you sell your soul to the devil, you lose track of time,
Consumed with inheriting the fruit of your crime.
There will come a day when you wish to make right,
But you'll find that your soul is as dark as the night.