Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Drama's Vitallest Expression is the Common Day" is a provocative poem by Emily Dickinson that challenges conventional ideas about drama, theater, and the stories that shape our lives. Through this brief work, Dickinson argues that the most compelling drama is not found in theatrical productions but rather in everyday life.

The poem's structure is divided into two quatrains. The layout serves as a subtle scaffold on which the poet arranges her unconventional beliefs about drama and theater.

In the opening line, the term "Vitallest" signifies not merely the 'most vital,' but the most full of life, thereby associating the idea of drama not just with narrative but with vitality and existence. The "Common Day," then, becomes not just the backdrop but the main stage where life's most significant events, tragedies, and miracles unfold. According to Dickinson, formal dramas "Perish in the Recitation," losing their vitality once they are penned down or performed on stage. This indicates that for Dickinson, the true essence of drama is impermanent and elusive; it lives in the moment.

The second stanza serves as an extension of this thought. Dickinson brings into focus the role of audience and actors by saying that true drama occurs even when "the Audience is scattered / And the Boxes shut." She goes on to cite examples from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet" to solidify her argument. According to her, the feelings and emotions that these characters feel are universal; they exist in "the Human Heart." Even without Shakespeare to document these stories, the drama would "be infinite enacted" in everyday human emotions and interactions.

Another fascinating element in this poem is Dickinson's interplay between the ephemeral and the eternal. While true drama, according to her, is impermanent and rooted in the "Common Day," it is also "infinite" because it resides in the human heart. This juxtaposition serves to elevate the mundane aspects of daily life to the level of the eternal, thereby making each moment a site of infinite possibility and drama.

Finally, the poem touches on the larger issues of documentation and memory. Dickinson suggests that the most meaningful dramas are those that are lived, not necessarily those that are written and recorded. This idea carries an implication about cultural memory: the most vivid, 'vital' experiences may not be the ones that history remembers, yet they are no less valid, impactful, or filled with drama.

In essence, Emily Dickinson's poem offers a radical rethinking of drama as an intrinsic part of the human experience, not confined to the stage or the page but played out in the mundane yet infinitely complex theater of everyday life.

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