Epitaphs In Spoon River

Everyone wonders what happens when you become deceased. What if you had the chance to write an epitaph for people to remember you by? Everyone in Spoon River had the opportunity to express their feelings, opinions, and views. In Spoon River Anthology, By Edgar Lee Masters: and my favorite life-themed epitaphs included, Lucinda Matlock, Griffy the Cooper, and Decan Taylor.

I found Decan’s poem the most interesting, because I wonder how he hid his addiction all those years. Mr. Taylor was a member of the church and belonged to the party of prohibition. Everyone thought he died from eating watermelon when in reality he died from drinking for thirty years. The epitaph states, “I slipped behind the prescription partition in Trainor’s drug store And poured a generous drink From the bottle marked ‘Spiritus Frumenti’” Life is a great theme for this poem because he lives his life but at the same time doing something he enjoys even though its frowned upon. Life includes being happy so why not do something you like, while living your life.

Another poem that captured my attention was Lucinda Matlock.

She was and average lady whom met her husband at a dance and they just connected. They went on to have 12 children, in which eight passed away. It was tough for Lucinda, but she went on and took care of her responsibilities. In Lucinda’s poem it says, “Shouting to the wooded hills, singing to the green valleys. At ninety-six I had lived enough, that is all And passed to a sweet repose.” This poem demonstrates life because it shows even though things get tough you have to pull through and continue. She lived a long life that was hard to handle but in the end was worth

it.
Griffy the Cooper wrote a very complex epitaph that had a meaning I enjoyed trying to understand. He was a tub craftsman that compared the theme of life to his daily work of creating tubs. Griffy feels like now he knows life, and realizes what its true meaning is. In his eyes the living of Spoon River are clueless and closed minded. He despises all the rules that make people think they are superior for following rules and society. Griffy the Cooper wrote, “ You are submerged in the tub of yourself- Taboos and rules and appearances, Are the staves of your tub. Break them and dispel the witchcraft of thinking your tub is life! And that you know life!” Life suits this epitaph well not only because he compares life to his own life, but also because being a little more understanding and open minded can further educate you. The more educated you are the easier it is to understand the meaning of life.
Life has a broad definition and is probably defined differently by everyone. There are spiritual and scientific views, simply because everyone was raised differently. These three people all felt like they learned a little more about life itself despite their differences. All of them had unique lives so they all learned about their own life, in different ways. Once they had realized things they wouldn’t have while they were alive, all three revealed their viewpoints and opinions in an epitaph influenced by life.