When Despair Becomes Self-Indulgent

The great playwrights and poets often used drama to express aspects of the human experience not easily articulated. We see this in Shakespeare’s tales of unrequited love, Maya Angelou’s caged bird metaphor, and Curtis Mayfield’s interpretation of the ghetto child’s cry. When done well, drama beautifully lends voice to emotions we struggle to understand and appreciate. It can endear people to us even when they might express their pain in unclear or unpleasant ways; it can uncover their dignity and compel our empathy.