The Wheel Of Fortune Poem by Andy Ruan

In medieval and Elizabethan times, people believed strongly that life on earth was unpredictable, governed by forces beyond human control. The turnings of fate were often depicted as a wheel to which humans clung. A person who was at the top of the wheel might achieve wealth and status, only to fall down as the wheel would descend. Because it was impossible to stay on the top of the wheel, people believed that the world was doomed to fall.

This Shakespearean sonnet was based upon King Richard III and the role of Nemesis reversing the role of Buckingham as he soon became aware of the wheel turning in the hidden background of reality. The poem is structured as Buckingham expresses his days at the top of the wheel, then his sudden awareness, and his final realization of humanity's unavoidable doom.