Kenny Tran

Poetry Through Performance

Prof. Theune

Dramatic Monologue
Script

Love Letter to Hans Christian Anderson is a poem by Jennifer Fandel that was born out
of Andersons death, in which he was found with an old love letter. Hans Christian Anderson was
never married and was actually rejected several times by multiple people, both men and women.
He was, in love, a failure. Hans Christian Anderson is more well known, though, for his fairy
tales such as The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen, and The Ugly Duckling.
I will be performing this poem in two different yet viable ways. The first viable, but less
accurate version of this poem will be performed from the viewpoint of a fantasy character. The
second performance will be more viable than the former. It will be a performance from a real-life
lover of Anderson.
First, we can look at the reading as the fantasy character. The fantasy character is a
satirical take on the poem. With this speaker, Im looking to articulate Andersons failure of a
love life. In order to articulate this, the character will be mocking him. The fairy tale character
will be speaking to Anderson. Anderson has died, therefore, he cannot achieve love in his life. He
never will, and the character mocks that by making fun of time and saying that he will leave if
Anderson doesnt come. The character knows very well that Anderson is not going to come for
him, therefore, he pokes fun at Andersons inability to reach love, even though it seems so
readily available. In this version of the poem, the stresses will be changed to support the sarcastic
tone of voice for the speaker. For example, in the second line, never will be stressed, but the
ending of the word will not be grounded, but it will go up, as if asking a question.

(Insert first reading)

Kenny Tran
Poetry Through Performance
Prof. Theune

Dramatic Monologue
Script

The second reading of this poem will be as a real-life lover of Anderson. This speaker is
truly in love with Anderson. It will be read as if Hans Christian Anderson died without being able
to send his love letter that he held in his hand when he died. Love was so close to his grasp, but it
was just too late for him. The poem will reflect the love that the two shared, even into slow death
in which they both fall. In this version, the reading will be much more grounded and relaxed than
the first. This is, literally, a love poem. There is no hidden agenda or surprise. It is a letter meant
to express their love. A major difference between the first reading and this one, is the meaning of
the ending. Whereas in the first reading, the ending is interpreted as the final slam against
Andersons lack of ability to gain love, this reading brings forth the idea that Anderson had
someone so willing to love him, that they would wait until death rather than live on without him.
This reading will have a darker and more strained reading than the first one, rather than just
teasing and sarcasm. It is difficult to pour your heart out to someone, especially when you dont
know if they love you back. It is important to note that in most poems, Springtime represents the
birth of love, but in this poem, Spring is actually the dying of love. Winter represents the love
that the two share, which ends up being frozen on the page because of Andersons death. I know
itll be difficult, but try to picture, throughout the poem, snow and ice being love and spring
leading to diminished love and eventually death.

(Insert second reading)