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The School of Schadenfreude

A Sorrowful Sonnet

By D. J. ReddallPublished 5 months ago 1 min read
6

One of the most pernicious parts of life

Is the tendency of other humans

To derive shameful joy from pain and strife

And laugh as others wear down to ruins

This response might strike one as peculiar

Save for the fact that at bottom, we’re beasts

Such that the rules with which we are familiar

Imply that when one starves, another feasts

Indeed, if ruthless competition reigns

Then when another loses, I might gain

But this sordid calculation mars brains

It reads life as a tale ugly and vain

If I and thou are interchangeable

Crude harm joy must be reprehensible

Sonnet
6

About the Creator

D. J. Reddall

I write because my time is limited and my imagination is not.

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Comments (7)

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  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran5 months ago

    I don't understand people who can get joy from others' misfortune. Like if it's on TV, yes I'd laugh because I know it's not real, but I'm not able to do so in real life. Loved your poem!

  • Gigi Gibson5 months ago

    Like Rachel’s husband, I tend to laugh at someone stubbing their toe, and also, like Rachel, I feel empathy towards those who are hurt. So, this business of Schadenfreude is foreign to me. I can’t rejoice over someone else’s suffering. Another well-written piece D.J.!

  • Kendall Defoe 5 months ago

    I like this. And I feel as though I've received a doctorate from this school. 🤔

  • Hannah Moore5 months ago

    I was talking about this today actually, that sense that while we tend to want others to be ok, must of us want to be a little bit okayer, like others are a bugger between us and disaster, and where that comes from. This was both funny and insightful.

  • Rachel Deeming5 months ago

    Crude harm joy. Great phrase. I feel sympathy for others; my husband thinks other people's misfortune especially if they fall over is hysterical.

  • Delicious food5 months ago

    good....

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