 |
King Ubu today (after Jarry's illustration) |
Canto I: UBU ROI
Alfred Jarry's word for poo...? 'Twas 'ubu.' (Ev'rybody knew.)
Ubu Roi offended all who that night sat in Al's famed hall.
(Brits employ'd a diff'rent word, translating 'Ubu Roi' 'King Turd.')
Fat, dishonest, greedy, cruel -- a cowardly mendacious fool --
Herr Ub' der Boob blends Modern Man with traits of Tân 'n' Taliban.
When Ubu hits, the fan base farts non-stop...and modernism starts.
* December 10, 1896. * Which is not to say in London's Albert Hall, of course, nor one
particular hall of fame, and certainly not any hall owned by Jarry himself, but instead in the Theatre de L'OEuvre at what's today's Theatre de Paris. * Except for a lack of reference to hair color (or hair at all), this list of the several character traits of King Ubu doesn't fail to bring to mind a similar one matching up item for item with that of a twice-impeached
ex-POTUS. * Tân is short for Viet Tân whose activities promote non-violent
political change in Vietnam. (Without a caret over its a, 'Tan' might also refer
to the dreaded Black and Tans, brutish British recruits enrolled in the Royal Irish Constabulary during the time of the Troubles. The Vietnamese organization is outlawed there, where it's considered a "terrorist force." (It seems one man's \
shoe bomber is another's freedom fighter.)
(a work in progress; additional cantos will be displayed in separate posts)
