Spoon River Anthology Essay - 534 Words

Spoon River Anthology The Spoon River Anthology, written by Edgar Lee Masters in 1915, was a unique piece of work in both style and structure. There are over two hundred â€Å"stories† told by the dead people who once lived in the town of Spoon River. The lives and dreams of these people are written as poems. The poetry itself is an excellent example of early modernist style. Since there are many people from many different backgrounds, and even different generations, (There are examples of Old English spellings and hints of people being from different decades), there are varied stories and themes present throughout the Anthology. A lot of the book revolves around the concept of the American dream and ethic, as well as the puritan†¦show more content†¦Some died happy, but a lot of the poems are bitter. The ghost of Lucinda Matlock presents one of the overall themes. The woman tells the story of her hard but full life. Then she expresses her anger toward the living generations’ petty woes. She states that â€Å"Life is too strong for you— it takes life to love life.† Lucinda’s character is based on Edgar Lee Master’s grandmother of the same name, who is buried in the cemetery that inspired the author. Another thematic poem is that of Yee Bow. Yee Bow was an Asian man who worshipped Confucius. The people of Spoon River tried to convert him, but he was faithful. One day, without warning, the clergyman’s son hit and killed Yee Bow. Yee was grief-stricken, knowing that his progeny could not worship him while he lie in Spoon River. Cooney Potter is my favorite character. He tells how he acquired a small piece of land from his father, and through hard work, he became quite prominent, but never satisfied. â€Å"Wishing to own two thousand acres, I bustled through the years with axe and plow, Toiling, denying myself, my wife, my sons, my daughters†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He says that his hard work killed him before he reached the age of sixty. He had achieved the American dream in the physical sense—but he had never taken the time to enjoy it. The prologue and epilogue are different, in the way that they are omniscient and haunting. The prologue sets the tone for the rest of the book. The poem is called TheShow MoreRelatedEssay on Love and Spoon River Anthology779 Words   |  4 Pages It is also said that it is rare to find a happy relationship. Edgar Lee Masters seemed to believe the same about the romantic relationships of his time, as well. Masters conveys theses feelings through some of the characters of his work, Spoon River Anthology. Edgar Lee Masters uses unhappy marriages as a common factor in the deaths of many of the characters including Margaret Fuller Slack, Amanda Barker and Tom Merritt in order to reveal his own discontent toward romantic relationships. FirstRead MoreSpoon River Anthology (Monologue)2179 Words   |  9 Pagesyour soul, 11. Your soul takes fire, 12. And in the conflagration of your soul 13. The evil of the world is lighted up and made clear-- 14. Be thankful if in that hour of supreme vision 15. Life does not fiddle. When viewing over Spoon River Anthology written by Edgar Lee Masters, various monologues came into consideration for further analysis. Although these numerous monologues were considered its speculation would became discarded when I read â€Å"Jonathan Swift Somers†. The words of â€Å"JonathanRead MoreSpoon River Anthology Summary1184 Words   |  5 PagesIn Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, Margaret Fuller Slack is an aspiring writer, whose notions of future greatness are foiled by, on a surface level, her marriage, and children. As a result, Margaret is bitter, resentful, and accusatory. In actuality, Margaret and her notion of personal privilege destroy her future. Masters’ poem is a cautionary tale regarding entitlement and laziness, an acknowledgment of the necessity of personal responsibility, and an example of a wasted life. MastersRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Spoon River 1104 Words   |  5 Pagesepitaphs in Edger Lee Masters Spoon River Anthology accurately reflects small town life in Newport, Vermont. Edgar Lee Masters was a poet and a novelist. He was born on August 23,1868 in Garnett, Kansas. His parents are Hardin Wallace Masters and Emma J. Dexter. Masters grew up on his grandmother?s farm in Illinois. After growing up on his grandmother?s farm, he became a lawyer in Chicago. He died March 5,1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Spoon River Anthology is made up of 244 epitaph poemsRead MoreEssay on Happiness and Drought2705 Words   |  11 Pagesseemingly inherent joy of a lackadaisical man as well as the value of perspectives and the ability to posit happiness over fortune and land. As many of Master’s poems in his Spoon River Anthology, the title â€Å"Fiddler Jones† refers to a man who is not only a fiddler but is now deceased. Many of the poems in the Master’s Anthology are penitent stories told by dead souls reflecting on their past lives. At first glance the title presents us with the life of a man now dead and Fiddler Jones has taken centerRead MoreSimilarities Between Washington McNeely by Edgar Lee Master and Our Town Comparison by Thornton Wilde621 Words   |  2 Pagessomething is taken away, to quote the book â€Å"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?† Works Cited Washingtno McNeely by Edgar Lee Masters Spoon River Anthology Read More Spoon River in History Essay1062 Words   |  5 PagesAmerica under goes a change led by many different events. The collection of poems written in Lee Masters book Spoon River Anthology portrays the typical small town at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Show the different social, economical, and political trend and influences throughout the United States. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The city of Spoon River went through many of the same social trends that the United States experienced like social Darwinism and theRead MoreLucinda Matlock Poem Analysis936 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Lee Masters is best known for his book Spoon River Anthology. Spoon River Anthology is considered by some critics, like Ernest Earnest, to be one of the greatest poetry collections in American literature. One of the most popular poems in Spoon River Anthology is â€Å"Lucinda Matlock.† In â€Å"Lucinda Matlock,† Masters concocts a fictional character, who is based on his grandmother, that tells readers from beyond the grave about the beauty and the pain that she faced in her life. The paradox of havingRead MorePoetry Analysis Paper of Edgar Lee Masters and Amy Lowell1857 Words   |  8 Pagesappreciation that the narrator has with life itself. Masters also draws upon Nature as a major theme in this poem, which starts in line eleven when he write s, â€Å"I made the garden and for holiday Rambled over the fields where sang the larks, And by Spoon River gathering many a shell,† (1308) Lucinda obviously has a deep gratitude for and a tie with nature. Her connection with nature is a wholesome one, as she depended upon it to feed her family and cure them of illnesses. She appreciates nature and whatRead MoreSymbolism in Writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay861 Words   |  4 Pagessomething else (509). Nathaniel Hawthorne is well known for using symbols of nature in many of his stories. In My Kinsman, Major Molineux, lead character, young Robin, comes to town with the expectation of a distant relative handing him a silver spoon. In this story Hawthorne uses the light and dark to represent good and evil. When Robin first arrives in town It was near nine oclock of a moonlight evening (584). In this description early on we see the contrast of light and dark combined.