Address Spoken by Miss Fontenelle
Speaking on her benefit night at the Dumfries theatre, Miss Fontenelle recounts asking a poet for a prologue and rejecting his proposal for solemn tears and vengeance. She urges those struggling with money or disappointed love to laugh, concluding that merriment should be joined with wisdom.
By Robert Burns · Genre: Poetry, Dramatic Poetry, Humor · 568 words
First lines
Spoken by Miss Fontenelle on her Benefit Night, December 4th, 1793, at the Theatre, Dumfries.
Genres
- Poetry — Rhyming verse moves from a reported encounter with a poet to direct advice about hardship and love.
- Dramatic Poetry — A theatre speaker addresses her audience and reenacts her exchange with a poet through quoted dialogue.
- Humor — The speaker mocks the poet's solemn proposal and recommends laughing at a fickle beloved and oneself.
Tags
laughter · theatre · financial hardship · disappointed love · benefit performance
What this Textopian page supports
Address Spoken by Miss Fontenelle is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Dramatic Poetry, Humor
- Length: 568 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for Address Spoken by Miss Fontenelle by Robert Burns
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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