“We are gazing into some strange incomprehensible painting of Piero di Cosimo...”
Born to be a poet, a gifted boy learns that he has been chosen for this special role in life. The literary life, he is told, will not be all fun and games, however, and the boy quickly discovers that his destiny is both a blessing and a curse-both “wonderful and terrible.”
Piero di Cosimo (ca. 1462-1521) was a Florentine painter known for his conventional religious art and his fantastical paintings of mythological subjects as well as for panels in which he fused mythology with his own imagination. Wilder drew his title from the Latin aphorism, “Nascuntur poetae, fiunt oratores,” or “Poets are born, orators are made.”
This short play is included in the collection Thornton Wilder's Playlets: Short, Short Plays for 3-5 Persons.