| Act IV: Ties that bind (the poem up) Mrs. Response: Have I left anything out? Mr. Reader: Well, let�s see if we can come up with a theme. Mrs. Response: Theme of the poem? Mr. Reader: Sort of. I�m thinking more of the theme of your response to the poem. Mrs. Response: Gosh. I�m not sure I understand you. Mr. Reader: I am not looking for the theme of the poem it self because there is no theme by it self. By it self it is black ink on very thin paper. The theme only comes alive when it is read and contemplated by human eyes and a human mind. And no two humans are alike, correct? Mrs. Response: Correct. Mr. Reader: Then that must mean the poem gets processed uniquely by every reader, correct? Mrs. Response: Yes. Mr. Reader: Then what was the theme of your response as it was processed by you? Mrs. Response: Well, it seems that I felt an uneasiness after reading it. Mr. Reader: Even after your first reading? Mrs. Response: Well yes. One classmate said it was funny to them and the other said it was about a man being sentenced to hell. Mr. Reader: And who was right? Mrs. Response: They both were! You have to laugh at the ridiculous resentment the narrator possesses, but you also get the feeling that even though this guy thought he was more pious than his fellow monk, he was sentencing himself to hell by holding onto all of his rage. Mr. Reader: And this goes back to your views of monastic life, right? Mrs. Response: Yes. This narrator could very well have been me. Mr. Reader: It was you, wasn�t it? Mrs. Response: Yes. I guess when I was in the relationship I was talking about earlier, it was me. |