The Star Chamber

Context is definatly required due to the specific nature of the poem.The star chamber was the only Medieval judicial court with the power to summon aristocracy and royalty to trial. The king and his council were the judges. Court sessions were held , with no indictments, no right of appeal, no juries, and no witnesses. Throughout history it stood as a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and was often used as a political weapon against the king’s opponents. The poem begins minutes after the trial and execution of one the king’s extramarital lovers, whom he accused of bewitching him into loving her. Patricians and nobility decorate the hall ostentatiously, Neatly fragmented into separate yet revolving Pockets of power and wealth. Only The Bluest of The Blue were called through For this particular macabre masquerade ball. Justice, the mask of choice. One thousand conversations can be heard. Gossip, amplified and echoed by the well dressed dome, That not ten minutes before rang with the contemptuous cries Of a damned woman. But now, excited voices and muted laughs Fly around the chamber: A confused flock of crows. The odd expletive; a welcome vulture. Mocking tones quote her last desperate words, Recorded by the eager, in meagre judicial journals. The dark iron puddle forms a reflective crevice into A red hell, where the sorceress’ soul will surely be headed. It perfumes and permeates the room a salty stench, As if the congregation’s summery seaside stay Had come early this year. The jugular still weeps blood. Mourning the loss of its maiden’s head; The penalty for lack of maidenhead in life, has cost her dearly. This promiscuous noble witch, Who enchanted the king into her bed, Signed her death warrant with luscious lips, Discarded land and title with a thrust of hips. Thus, no tears are shed in that hallowed chamber. Down on her knees, She looked up to stars embossed on the vaulted roof, The celestial body shone and gleamed like the sun. And as the king challenged the blueness of her blood With a French-made blade, he unknowingly killed his unborn son. Adam Al-Samarae