The Puzzle Pressures of Acting Class
Puzzle pieces.
Unruly, chaotic Disarray.
An acting teacher assigns a scene.
Scattered across a surface,
Pieces lay every which way.
Unsuspecting students.
Nervous, eager Ambition.
A puzzle’s outer rim is assembled first.
After a scene’s first read,
Some actors hold onto hope.
Piles of puzzle pieces.
Overwhelming Much-too-much.
Acting students begin breaking down a scene.
Once sorted, one-by-one,
The pieces start to fit into place.
Student scenes- take one.
Anxious, reaching darn good Try.
Finding the fitting piece is a challenge of trial and error.
Students perform as they see fit.
Teacher says, “try something different.”
Glimpse of a picture.
Close-to-cool, small-but-sure Success.
Students try to intently interpret their teacher’s notes.
The puzzle seems to resemble
The picture on the box.
Student scenes- take two.
Disastrous, insincere Inadequacy.
A puzzle piece often looks like it fits, but doesn’t.
This harshly self-righteous teacher
Scolds students for lack of improvement.
A piece doesn’t fit.
Patient persistence vs. pitch-a-fit Frustration.
The teacher invalidates the students’ misunderstanding.
Options: calmly keep searching, or
Refuse and force the first piece to fit.
A confused student.
Tension-filled, mistaken Resistance.
A puzzle can’t be completed if one stops searching for the right piece.
The teacher blames the student
For the note’s failure to fix the scene.
The piece snaps.
Cardboard-crushing puzzle Demolition.
“Okay, next scene.” The student ran to the bathroom in fear of tears.
To fit a piece where it doesn’t belong,
One has to bend, fold, and break it.
Font size:
Written on February 25, 2022
Submitted by purplepolarbear10735 on March 30, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 5 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCXB XDEXX AXCDX DXFGH FXXXX XXEFH GDXXG HXXHC XDXXG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,645 |
Words | 293 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Puzzle Pressures of Acting Class" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/123438/the-puzzle-pressures-of-acting-class>.
Discuss the poem The Puzzle Pressures of Acting Class with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In