Olden Plea: Chapter Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
“Olden Plea” is a compact, four-line poem that functions as a direct appeal. The speaker opens by addressing an unspecified audience—perhaps a judge, an executioner, or a historical authority—and asks that two traditional forms of capital punishment be omitted: hanging and quartering. The request is stated plainly, without any preamble or justification.
Immediately after this plea, the speaker proposes a substitute activity: instead of carrying out these brutal punishments, the speaker suggests “doing some drawings.” The poem then offers three possible subjects for these drawings: a pillory, an urchin, and a herring. The poem ends with this list, leaving the reader with the image of these mundane, old-fashioned objects rather than the violence they replace.
The structure is deliberately simple. The first two lines state what the speaker wants to avoid; the third line introduces the alternative; the fourth line provides the specific examples. There is no elaboration, no moral argument, and no further explanation. The poem’s brevity mirrors the modesty of its request—it asks for a small, creative act in place of a horrific one.
The title, “Olden Plea,” signals both the archaic tone of the request and its nature as a plea. The word “olden” evokes a distant past, fitting the historical punishments and the antique objects mentioned. The poem’s compactness matches the simplicity of the ask, and the lack of rhetorical flourish underscores the speaker’s straightforwardness.
Key Events
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The speaker makes a direct plea to skip hanging and quartering.
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The speaker proposes an alternative: creating drawings.
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The speaker lists three possible subjects: a pillory, an urchin, and a herring.
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The poem concludes with this list, leaving the alternative as the final image.
There are no narrative events beyond this sequence. The poem is a single moment of address, and its entire action is the request and the proposal.
Character Development
The poem features no named characters and no development. The only voice is that of the speaker, whose character is implied through the plea. The speaker appears to prefer art over violence, and the choice of drawing subjects suggests a gentle, perhaps whimsical sensibility. However, because the poem is so brief, there is no room for change or growth. The speaker’s personality is static, defined solely by this one request.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Violence versus art is the central theme. The poem contrasts the brutal, physical punishments of hanging and quartering with the gentle, creative act of drawing. The speaker does not argue against punishment in general, but rather proposes a substitution that replaces harm with artistic expression. This theme resonates with Collins’ broader interest in the power of art to transform or reframe experience.
Historical punishments appear as symbols of a harsh past. Hanging and quartering were once common methods of execution, and their mention evokes a time when justice was public and gruesome. The poem’s title, “Olden Plea,” reinforces this historical distance.
Artistic substitution is the poem’s core motif. The speaker does not simply ask for mercy; they offer a concrete alternative. The act of drawing becomes a stand-in for violence, and the choice of subjects—a pillory, an urchin, a herring—turns the focus from punishment to observation. These objects are mundane and unthreatening, further softening the tone.
Olden times imagery is woven throughout. The pillory is a device of public humiliation, the urchin is a term for a poor or mischievous child, and the herring is a common fish. Together, they evoke a bygone era, but they also ground the poem in everyday life. The speaker’s request to draw these items suggests a desire to capture the ordinary rather than the extraordinary.
Why This Chapter Matters
“Olden Plea” is one of the shortest poems in Musical Tables, but it encapsulates several of Collins’ signature moves: wit, brevity, and a playful subversion of expectations. The poem takes a grim subject—execution—and transforms it into a lighthearted request for art. This juxtaposition is characteristic of Collins’ ability to find humor and humanity in unlikely places.
The poem also contributes to the collection’s broader meditation on the relationship between language, art, and history. By proposing drawings instead of punishments, the speaker implicitly argues for the redemptive power of creativity. The poem’s compact form makes this argument feel effortless, as if the request were the most natural thing in the world.
For readers, this chapter offers a moment of pause. It invites reflection on how we respond to violence and whether art can serve as a meaningful alternative. The poem’s brevity does not diminish its impact; rather, it makes the plea more direct and memorable.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What is the speaker’s request in “Olden Plea”?
The speaker asks that hanging and quartering be skipped. In their place, the speaker proposes doing drawings, specifically of a pillory, an urchin, or a herring. The request is made directly and without justification, emphasizing the simplicity of the alternative.
2. How do the proposed drawing subjects relate to the theme of violence versus art?
The subjects—a pillory, an urchin, and a herring—are all ordinary, non-threatening items. The pillory is a historical punishment device, but it is depicted as an object to be drawn rather than used. The urchin and herring are everyday figures. By choosing these subjects, the speaker shifts attention from the violence of execution to the calm act of artistic representation, reinforcing the poem’s contrast between harm and creativity.
3. What effect does the poem’s brevity have on its meaning?
The poem’s brevity mirrors the modesty of the request. There is no elaborate argument or emotional appeal; the speaker simply states the plea and the alternative. This compactness makes the request feel both urgent and understated, and it leaves the reader with the final image of the three drawing subjects, which lingers as a peaceful counterpoint to the violent punishments mentioned at the start.