Dan McGrew
We are in a cheap bar in the Yukon Territory in western Canada in the 1890s. Gold has been found here, and thousands of men have flocked to the area hoping to make their fortune.
Dan McGrew, a rough gold miner is playing cards and having a drink with his girl-friend, Lou. A mysterious stranger, half-frozen to death, comes into the bar, buys everyone a drink and starts to play on the piano. Who is he and what does he want?
Suddenly the lights go out, and two shots ring through the air. A woman screams. When the lights go back on, both the stranger and Dan McGrew are lying dead on the floor. Why have the two men killed each other? Why is Lou holding the dead stranger in her arms?
A narrative poem
Who would think that a poem could tell a story as exciting as The Shooting of Dan McGrew? Poems are usually thoughtful, romantic or moody. They are seldom exciting stories like this. But The Shooting of Dan McGrew is a narrative poem and this type of poetry always tells a story.