A speech in sonnet form from the famous (in Eneana) bards-play.
Photo credit: LoggaWiggler, Pixabay
And to the witcher man whose casted curse
Enlarged the monster that my words began
Who fostered fractious fracases, and worse
Fear not reprisal from my noble hand
I do not doubt your foul and grave intent
But cannot fault the anger spent in kind
For well did I deserve the punishment
That matched my semblance to my frightful mind
An accidental tutelage by ordeal
Such visions cold into my memory burnt
To be the other side, to sail that sea
This lesson lived is thrice a lesson learnt
So I sweet bless my enemy stayed stout
Grown self-styled judge and executioner
Who slayed the brute within and that without
To sprout a brighter bud to take her turn
Word count: 119. Inspired by this week’s Moral Mondays challenge prompt: “Bless those who curse you.” I apologize that I couldn’t quite get it under 100 words. It is much trickier to shave words down when working in iambic pentameter, it turns out.
It just so happened that the prompt was perfect for a bards-play I am pretending not to write. That is, my muse keeps wanting to write a whole play in full sonnet format, despite me telling her that it’s an insane idea that is going nowhere. (I knew I shouldn’t have fed her so much Shakespeare this summer.) So I am pretending to ignore her, but she keeps working it out when she thinks I’m not watching.
This is part of the protagonist’s big speech in the final scene. The taenassen (1) was turned into a monster in the first act by a witcher (2) she insulted, and now in the end, she forgives the witcher who did it.
(1) Heir to the throne of the Taen
(2) Follower of the old ways, as opposed to those bookish modern wizards.
Tales from Eneana 
Wow! Awesome poetry Joy. I very much loved this, and how it showed the moral well 🙂
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Thank you so much, Amanda; it’s great to get such positive feedback! And yes, she basically sums up the moral here, which might be a problem I suppose — starting with the end of the story, maybe people won’t be interested in reading what happened earlier. But then, I figure I already know what happens in all the real Shakespeare plays, and I like going back to see them over and over again anyway.
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Nice alternating rhyme pattern. This shows some skill. Take care.
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Thank you, Robert! And yes, keeping to the right rhyme pattern and rhythm definitely increases the difficulty level. This is why I’m hesitant to follow my muse in her quest to write an entire *play* in this format.
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You should try if only for the reason that it’s a good exercise. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if you end up pulling it off.
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It would definitely be good practice, and thanks for the vote of confidence that you think I could do it. But what would I DO with a Shakespearean play even if I finished it? Maybe for now I should get more practice at finishing my novel. 🙂
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Your story fits the moral perfectly and I love the form in which the piece is written. (Are you, by any chance, a descendant of the Bard himself? Lol.) I can understand why you couldn’t get it down to 100 words, too. I imagine you’ve put iambic pentameter to very good use in your Bards Play. 🙂
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Thanks! I was really struggling with the prompt, too, before I remembered that I’d already written the synopsis of this play and that it would make perfect sense to include a speech where she blesses the man who (literally) cursed her. So far this is the only speech that’s finished. I’m not sure whether or how I’ll pursue this project. Maybe I’ll keep writing a speech here and there in response to particular prompts. Although if I decide to get serious about it, I’ll want to take the synopsis to my writers group first to make sure I’m totally solid on what happens in each scene. I can’t imagine trying to revise in iambic pentameter!
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I have to side with your muse — I want the play. 😉 This speech really sucked me into the story. I’m hooked! I want more. By the way, great job on the iambic pentameter. It reads so effortlessly.
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Thank you Nortina! Getting you sucked into the story was exactly what my muse was trying to do (that little wench). I’ve been watching a ton of Shakespeare lately, so the iambic pentameter seems to roll through my head whether I like it or not, but then putting specific words onto the page? Wow, harder than I thought it would be. I practiced each verse aloud over and over until it sounded like something an actor might actually want to say on stage…
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