Life — January 11, 1923 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Parts for Poets" This satirical page proposes casting famous poets in theatrical roles, lampooning both the poets and contemporary plays/literature. The caricatures pair literary figures with character names: - **John Masefield** as "Al" in "The Old Soak" (a popular period play about an alcoholic) - **Carl Sandburg** as "The Hairy Ape" - **Rudyard Kipling** as "Pollyanna" - **Erwin Markham** as "Rip Van Winkle" - **Edna Millay** as "Lady Macbeth" - **Amy Lowell** as "Little Lord Fauntleroy" - **Ezra Pound** as "Titania" (from *A Midsummer Night's Dream*) The humor derives from absurd mismatches between each poet's public image/work and their assigned role—suggesting these serious literary figures would be ridiculously miscast. The caption notes this is "suggested by the rumor that Bliss Carman is playing Bill Jones" in a theatrical production touring Canadian provinces.