Poetry · Chapter
LXXXVI explained
A chaotic and satirical depiction of a royal procession or courtly gathering, where officials and commoners alike are jumbled together in a disorderly, violent, and absurd melee.
What happens
A chaotic and satirical depiction of a royal procession or courtly gathering, where officials and commoners alike are jumbled together in a disorderly, violent, and absurd melee.
Themes in this chapter
Social Critique and Mortality
The chaotic, violent, and absurd description of the procession serves as a critique of social hierarchy and the folly of human vanity.
Key passages
“Counts of the palace, and the state purveyor Of moth’s-down, to make soft the royal beds, The Common Council and my fool Lord Mayor Marching a-row, each other slipshod treads;”
Nobles and officials, including the one who supplies soft materials for the king's beds, along with the city council and the ridiculous mayor, march in a line, stepping on each other's heels.
Highlights the absurdity and lack of dignity among the participants.
“Powder’d bag-wigs and ruffy-tuffy heads Of cinder wenches meet and soil each other; Toe crush’d with heel ill-natured fighting breeds, Frill-rumpling elbows brew up many a bother, And fists in the short ribs keep up the yell and pother.”
Powdered wigs and the messy hair of servant girls collide and dirty one another; crushed toes lead to angry scuffles, rumpled elbows cause chaos, and punches to the ribs keep the noise and commotion going.
Emphasizes the physical violence and disorder that undermines any pretense of ceremony.