# Monday explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

The narrator explains why the Monday column is shorter than usual, recounting a conversation with a friend and a directive from his boss to take one day off per week from writing the full 'Wake' column.

## Themes in this chapter

### Work and Profession

The narrator discusses the boss's decision to give him one day off from the demanding task of writing the Wake, highlighting the balance between work and rest.

### Humor and Satire

The playful tone and self-deprecating humor about the difficulty of writing a Monday column underscore the satirical nature of the chapter.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator explains the origin of the short Monday column, citing a boss's instruction to rest one day a week.

## Key lines

> Each week, to rest your brain, we’ll give you one day. We really can’t expect a man to keep a Wake all week, So just send in a verse or two for Monday.

The boss decided that the narrator should have one day off each week to rest his mind, since it's unreasonable to maintain the Wake column every day; instead, he should submit just a short poem or two on Mondays.

_This explains the rationale behind the abbreviated Monday column._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/monday
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters