A Minor Role Flashcards
1
Q
The Ordinary and Unassuming Life
A
- The speaker of “A Minor Role” suggests that they are “best” understood as an actor cast in a supporting role in a play. You might see them “Propping a spear, or making endless / Exits and entrances with my servant’s / patter”; they have a few speaking lines, but they mostly just say “Yes, sir,” and “O no, sir.” The speaker isn’t bitter, however, because they know that one doesn’t need to play “the star part” to appreciate the blessing of simply being alive. What’s more, the speaker implies that supporting roles are vital to the metaphorical show of life as a whole: one mistake, and “the monstrous fabric” of everyday life would fall apart.
- The poem then reveals that the speaker is in fact dealing with a serious illness. It’s unclear if the speaker is sick or if they’re caring for someone else. Either way, this illness has pushed the speaker into a “minor role” in their own life, becoming the “star” of the show while the speaker themselves becomes a “servant[]” essentially doing the illness’s bidding. The “show” isn’t about the speaker, then, but the speaker doesn’t believe that it’s not worth playing a part.
- This way of living might seem a little isolating and sad, but there’s also something heroic about the speaker’s commitment to the unassuming motions that keep life humming along. Although the speaker shuns “the star part” (“And who would want it?” they ask) they’re still fervently grateful to be alive—and urge “you,” the reader, to “believe in life,” too. In a powerful turn, they refuse to give into the conventions of tragedy, asserting that even a minor role is worth playing because life has tremendous value.
2
Q
The Isolation and tedium of illness
A
- A Minor Role” paints a picture of what it’s like to be seriously ill. The poem illustrates the mundane and isolating reality of chronic or terminal illness, including the work that goes into managing everyone else’s feelings in addition to your own.
- Fanthorpe’s speaker doesn’t present a serious illness as a big, dramatic event. Instead, their experience as a patient (or, perhaps, caregiver for someone else who is sick) is made up of lots of little, tedious moments in waiting rooms and doctor’s offices. Everyday life goes on even in the midst of personal crisis, the poem implies, and the speaker even finds a kind of normalcy “[s]ustaining the background music of civility.” That is, there’s something comforting about business chugging along as usual even after receiving a life-altering diagnosis.
- In private, though, the speaker can “admit” that everything is not all right. Only when they’re alone are they free to acknowledge what they’re really feeling: “[t]ears, torpor, boredom, lassitude.” Nevertheless, they refuse to view themself as the main character in a tragedy and dismiss big, dramatic gestures in favor of a commitment to keep living—as best they can—a dignified and ordinary life.
3
Q
Societal discomfort with death
A
- In addition to illustrating the speaker’s personal experience with a serious illness, “A Minor Role” also holds the mirror up to society in general and reveals how uncomfortable the realities of sickness and death can be. Even as the speaker grapples with a difficult diagnosis, they feel responsible for sparing others from discomfort and anxiety by maintaining the illusion that everything is fine.
- The speaker’s illness is frightening and draining. They say that they’ve had to “Learn to conjugate all the genres of misery.” In other words, they’ve experienced a whole spectrum of difficult feelings, from grief to boredom. Yet even as they confront the physical and emotional challenges of being ill (or caring for someone who is ill), they also have to navigate social taboos around the topic of death and dying. The speaker feels it’s necessary to put on a brave face for those around them and deny or downplay the seriousness of their illness.
- And yet, in the poem’s final moments, the speaker’s facade cracks. Everything is not all right! The speaker is finally able to express just how terrifying the prospect of dying is and reveals a desperate desire to live. In the end, the speaker admits that it would not actually be “better to die” than continue to live with this illness. They’re not willing to give up on life—or to totally accept that their own life may be ending.
4
Q
I’m best observed …
… to unwanted sniggers.
A
- “A Minor Role” begins with the poem’s first-person speaker declaring that they are “best observed on stage.” This is the beginning of an extended metaphor that the speaker will build out over the first stanza and then return to again at the very end of the poem.
- While subtle, the use of such sonic devices elevates the poem’s language and makes the speaker’s use of free verse feel a little more disciplined. One might even say it sounds a little more rehearsed, which makes sense given that they’re describing being on stage.The speaker adds that, though they might not be the title character, and though they have relatively few lines, it still feels as if there’s a lot riding on their performance. If they flub a line or trip up part of a scene, they can feel the stage curtain (“the monstrous fabric”) sweeping down in front of the laughing audience.
5
Q
But my heart’s …
… Parking at hospitals.
A
- In stanza 2, the poem’s setting suddenly shifts. The speaker no longer envisions themselves acting on stage and instead illustrates how their “minor role” manifests in everyday life. They declare that their “heart’s in the unobtrusive, / The waiting-room roles.” In other words, they’re committed to the little, inconspicuous, often unnoticed tasks that keep life humming along.
- The redundant phrases “driving to hospitals,” and “Parking at hospitals” call attention to the repetitive nature of duties and responsibilities that accompany a serious illness. The parallelism of these phrases, as well as the asyndeton here (the lack of any coordinating conjunction between them), makes these tasks sound all the more tedious. There’s nothing glamorous about illness, and these “waiting-room roles” feel thankless and monotonous.
6
Q
Holding hands under …
… music of civility.
A
- The speaker goes on to list a string of other “waiting-room roles” that they play in their capacity as a patient (or, perhaps, as a caregiver). These are the mundane activities that come with managing an illness—all while trying to keep everyday life humming along.
- They also try to parse through the dense medical lingo of “consultants’ monologues.” The word “monologues” is a nod toward the theater metaphor that began the poem: the speaker is a listener here, not the star giving a dramatic speech in the middle of the show. They do their due diligence by “asking pointed,” or sharp, questions, but they always do so graciously. They dutifully keep track of medication dosing and are pleasant to hospital staff. All of these tasks are akin to “Sustaining the background music of civility”: the rhythms of regular life. The speaker may want to scream and cry, but they keep it together.
- The speaker also uses parallelism to underscore the ways these “roles” are unending. Notice that all the verbs in the list end in “-ing.” These are present participles, and they indicate that all of these things are ongoing. There’s no opportunity for the speaker to take a break from the work of being sick. It sounds exhausting, and it doesn’t seem like the speaker expects much respite.
7
Q
At home in …
… For well-meant intrusiveness.
A
- In the previous stanza, the speaker described their routine at the hospital. Now, they describe what life is like for them back at home. Onlookers “may see me,” the speaker says, “Walking fast in case anyone stops.” They’re moving quickly and trying to attract as little attention as possible. They just want to get back inside the privacy of their house without anyone asking them how they’re doing.
- They have a well-rehearsed formula for when this does happen. They reply, “O, getting on, getting better.” Once again, they’re playing down the reality and seriousness of their illness. They’re anxious not to share too much presumably because they don’t want to be the object of others’ pity and concern. The speaker acknowledges that others mean well—their questions are “well-meant”—but they feel “intrusive,” or nosy, all the same, and the speaker responds in a way that will prevent further questioning.
- These lines reveal the speaker’s commitment to managing others’ expectations and feelings: they don’t want to burden others with the truth of their situation. At the same time, they also illustrate just how uncomfortable the topics of illness, death, and dying can be. This is a conversation the speaker very much wants to avoid. Perhaps the speaker hasn’t even been able to personally accept the fact that they aren’t really “getting better.”
8
Q
At home, …
… but grateful always;
A
- Line 19 ushers the reader into the privacy of the speaker’s home. From here, the reader begins to learn more about what the speaker’s life is like when they’re not playing a more public “role” and performing for others.
- Initially, at least, the speaker’s breezy, upbeat tone is back. Once home, they look forward to going to bed—adding that sleep is generally “A good idea!” And in parenthesis, the speaker cracks a little joke, admitting that “Bed solves a lot.” The speaker might be exhausted from shuttling to and from the hospital, but “Bed” tends to make everything feel better.
- Of course, the speaker is being slightly sarcastic. Taking a nap won’t cure cancer. But it might feel like a good short-term alternative to dealing with callous medical staff and some well-meaning but nosy neighbors.
- As in stanza 2, the speaker then uses asyndeton to relate a long list of activities. These seem like pretty everyday activities, but they come with caveats. For example, when the speaker picks up the phone, they are “wary” of what they say, or careful not to reveal too much. Nevertheless, they make an effort to sound “grateful always.” Earlier, the speaker remained unfailingly polite with all the doctors and specialists they spoke to. Even in the privacy of their own home, it seems, they feel obliged to preserve a sense of normalcy and civility.
9
Q
Contrive meals for …
… Admit it’s not.
A
- The speaker continues to list out the various things they do “at home.” They think up fanciful meals, read “soft-centered happy-all-the-way-through novels,” and spend time looking for their cat, a task they find “mysteriously reassuring.” The tone remains lighthearted and even a bit silly, yet it’s clear that the speaker is still going out of their way to deny or distract themselves from the reality of their illness (or the illness of whomever they’re caring for). They want comfort and reassurance rather than cold, hard truth.
- The repetition of the nonspecific word “things” here further suggests that the speaker is getting tired of this endless list of distractions. Indeed, here they finally speak to the fact that they’ve only been pretending that “all’s well.” This is a role they’ve been playing, not reality. But now, they’re prepared to “admit” that everything is not all right, after all.
10
Q
Learn to conjugate …
… else. Consultant’s holiday.
A
- By the start of stanza 4, the poem’s tone has changed entirely. The speaker is now talking explicitly about how miserable dealing with serious illness really is, and how they feel isolated and marginalized in their suffering.
- They speak about “misery” as if were a foreign language or a topic of study, using words like “conjugate” and “genre.” In other words, misery is something that has to be learned, even practiced. It is nuanced, and comes in many forms: “Tears, torpor, boredom, lassitude, yearnings.” Once again, the speaker uses asyndeton to pile up all the different ways they experience misery, listing out all the variations without conjunctions to slow things down or break up the list.
- And yet, the speaker also shares that part of the pain and frustration comes from dealing with delays and complications in their treatment while they are shunted around from specialist to specialist. This is one very real downside to playing a “minor role”: the speaker often feels like they’re nobody’s priority. They get sent from one doctor to the next and have to put their own life on hold when specialists go on vacation.
11
Q
Not the star …
… trans. EF Watling
A
- The speaker isn’t one to make a fuss or draw attention to themselves. As such, instead of complaining about long delays or inefficiencies in their treatment, they remain gracious as ever, always “Saying Thank you.”
- In line 35, the speaker then asks a rhetorical question: “And who would want it?” (The “star part,” that is.) Despite the grueling, tedious work of being sick, the speaker emphatically rejects the idea of being the heroic figure at the center of a tragedy.
- The props (“the spear,” “the servant’s tray”) introduced in stanza 1 are back, as the speaker returns to the extended metaphor of the actor on the stage. They return to this idea only to cast it aside, just as they “jettison,” or throw away, the spear and the tray. They also emphatically reject “the terrible drone” of an imaginary Greek Chorus, which intones a line from the tragedy Oedipus Rex: “Yet to my thinking this act was ill-advised / It would have been better to die.”
12
Q
Form
A
- “A Minor Role” is a free verse poem made up of five stanzas of varying lengths
- On one level, this form might seem at odds with the speaker’s character: this speaker pays attention to small or innocuous details. At the same time, however, the poem’s loose, shaggy form reflects its easygoing, conversational tone. It has the contours of a casual chat. Despite talking about a serious subject, the poem remains relatively light-hearted. This, in turn, might reflect the speaker’s dedication to “Sustaining the background music of civility.” By then setting the poem’s final line apart from the rest, the speaker indicates that, if readers take just one thing away from the poem, let it be this: life is worth living.
13
Q
Rhyme scheme and meter
A
As a free verse poem, “A Minor Role” doesn’t use a rhyme scheme. Instead, it sounds conversational, chatty, and even prose-like at times. This feels appropriate to the poem’s subject: rhyme is decorative and often comes across as ornamental. It’s flashy and draws attention to itself, while this is a poem about staying out of the spotlight and focusing on the humble, everyday work of “getting on, getting better.”
