Small towns are commonly constructed with buried truths, hidden motives, and dark pasts. The town of Spoon River is no exception. Spoon River Anthology is a collection of short, free verse poems by Edgar Lee Master, written about a small town full of secrets. Many of these townspeople face circumstances which compel them to make consequential decisions, bringing them to their ultimate demise. The overpowering force of love takes a negative and violent toll on characters in Spoon River Anthology, proving that not all love is kind. “I thirsted so for love, I hungered so for life” (Line 12). Minerva Jones was charmed by the influence of Butch Weldy. Minerva was a woman who hardly received attention from men; she was an outcast. So reasonably, the moment a man gave her this …show more content…
While the public caught Doctor Meyers in the end, Butch Weldy lived his entire life keeping his sinister ways hidden. “After I got religion and steadied down” (Line 1). He is carrying on like an average American, accepting the Christian religion and settling down in a house. Yet, he is completely oblivious, blind to the damage he inflicts on those around him. It’s easy to be so carefree when no one’s pointing fingers. No matter how a person is seen or what they have done, their actions always boomerang back at them. Many townspeople in Spoon River come to an untimely demise, however, there are some who deserve their ultimate fate. Butch Weldy is one of those characters. In Minerva’s passage, she states “And I sank into death, growing numb from the feet up,” (Line 7). When Butch Weldy is left disfigured at work, he tells us his legs are immediately broken, coinciding with Minerva’s death. Next he illustrated his eyes “burned crisp as a couple of eggs” (Line 13). This is ironic, considering within his timeline he has been utterly blind to the damage he has done to others. Another character who reaped what they saw, is Dora
carry debts, it always returns back what you gave it.”(Drishti Bablani) Karma is a common word referring to destiny or fate being followed as a consequence of one's actions. People in the town of Spoon River face their karma and deal with the consequences of their actions in a novel called Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. In the story, the townspeople’s lives are described in a collection of epitaphs, showing how their decisions eventually lead to death. The epitaphs of the townspeople unveil
“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others”. The book Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters presents the stories of various deceased residents of a small town called Spoon River. Each resident speaks from their grave, sharing their personal experiences, secrets, regrets, and thoughts about life. Through these epitaphs, the book delves into the complexities of human nature, relationships, and the realities of small town existence. The book reveals how everyone in a small town
Edgar Lee Masters was a poet and novelist born in the late 1800s. He is most known for his famous 1915 publication of Spoon River Anthology, a compilation of 244 free-verse epitaphs told from the grave by the former residents, both real and imaginary, of Spoon River, a fictitious small town. All 244 dead residents of Spoon River have a story to tell about their victories, hardships, and their secrets. Masters became famous by revealing the secret lives and loves of a small town’s residents, told
In the Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters the first poem is about Minerva the poetess she was made fun of and treated like an animal. She was kidnapped by Butch Weldy and left for dead. At the end she reveals that all she wants is for her poetry to be remembered. She takes herself seriously as a poetess. She hopes that people will remember her as a poetess and not just the fat woman in town killed by Butch. Butch thought that he was safe because he found religion, a god a figure to guide
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 “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
Steinberg Audio Drama Report 1. The author of Spoonface Steinberg is Lee Hall. The significance of this story’s title called Spoonface Steinberg is that Spoonface is this little autistic girl’s name whose face is described as round as a spoon. And if you looked into a spoon you will see a face like hers. 2. There were many important events in this story like in the beginning how Spoonface is describing her love for the opera music. Furthermore, she says that the beautiful opera music sounded sad but it’s
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. First
seemingly 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 “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 center
Human Emotions in Spoon River Anthology Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters is a collection of epitaphs that reflects the lives of the townspeople of Spoon River. The production of the anthology was a result of a psychological encounter Masters had experienced. Although the crisis is not specified, it began after spending a beautiful weekend in Chicago with his mother in May 1914. During the stay, Masters and his mother had recalled past events and people. After he walked his mother to the
The famous poet Edgar Lee Masters, uses a collection of short poems in her work "Spoon River Anthology". The Anthology collectively narrates the epitaphs of the residents of Spoon River, a fictional small town named after the real Spoon River that ran near the author's home town. In one of her numerous short poems called "Minerva Jones", I learned that Minerva is a rape victim. With her heavy body, cock-eye, and rolling walk, it drew plenty of attention of the people. But it drew too much attention