Song Meaning
The final moments of a performance unfold with a strange mix of revelry and detachment. Milkmaids and village girls sway with smiling boys, a scene of youthful energy and perhaps flirtation, as the hero claims the Columbine. Yet, the audience's reaction is peculiar; they rise, hats in hand, but then 'disdain / To watch the final saraband,' turning away from the 'discovered masquerades' and superficial 'cigarettes and compliments.' This suggests a performance that, despite its outward charm, has revealed something unsettling or hollow beneath the surface.
The core tension arises from the contrast between the staged gaiety and the audience's abrupt withdrawal. The 'smiling boys' and the hero's capture of the Columbine hint at a narrative, but the audience's refusal to witness the end, their disdain for the 'masquerades,' implies a disillusionment with the artifice. It’s as if the performance’s conclusion exposes a truth that is too uncomfortable or too mundane to bear.
The lyrics introduce a striking image with 'the comedian again,' described as 'the most expressive, real of men.' This figure is 'Concentred into vest and nose,' a vivid picture of a performer reduced to his essential, perhaps exaggerated, costume. The 'shadow dense, immense' falling through 'painted colonnades' before this reveal feels like a dramatic foreshadowing, a heavy presence that dwarfs the artificial setting and points to a more profound, even tragic, reality embodied by the comedian.
This piece is effective because it captures a specific, almost melancholic, feeling of anticlimax and disillusionment. The careful staging of the performance, with its 'dance' and 'saraband,' is undercut by the audience's sudden aversion and the lingering, overwhelming presence of the comedian. The writing makes us question what is truly 'real' in a performance and what happens when the mask slips, leaving only the concentrated essence of the performer and a pervasive shadow.
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