# LXXXVI explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by John Keats.

## 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxxxvi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_14_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters