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Spoon river anthology literary criticism
Spoon river anthology characters
Spoon river anthology literary criticism
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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 bus stop at the end of the weekend, he went home to write “The Hill,” which is the opening of Spoon River Anthology, as well as a couple of the epitaphs. Masters has said that the creation of the Spoon River Anthology was a way for him to cope with
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In lines one through five of the poem, Lucinda explains the activities she participated in before she had met Davis, her future husband: “I went to the dances at Chandlerville/ And played snap-out at Winchester./ One time we changed partners/ Driving home in the moonlight of middle June,/ And then I found Davis.” (Masters, Edgar Lee. "Lucinda Matlock."). Lucinda’s past life consists of stay out late at the dances and the games in town. This reflects her fun and carefree attitude before marriage, which is one of the many human emotions shown throughout the poem. Her buoyant attitude is not negative nor positive, but instead highlights her youthfulness before marriage. The poem takes an abrupt turn when she meets her future husband David. This abruptness draws light to her sudden change from being single to being married ("Explanation: ‘Lucinda Matlock’”) Her encounter with David displays the human emotion love towards her future significant other. Lucinda Matlock and her husband Davis live a standard, traditional life, which she lives without any complaints: “The life story, particularly in the absence of any apparent conflict, presents Lucinda as a woman who accepted, with pleasure when possible, accepted all aspects of her life as it unfolded” ("Explanation: ‘Lucinda Matlock’”) She naturally lives her life to the fullest and embraces it. Lucinda Matlock’s love for nature is seen in lines eleven through fifteen: “I made the garden, and for holiday/ Rambled over the fields where sang the larks,/ And by Spoon River gathering many a shell,/ And many a flower and medicinal weed--/ Shouting to the wooded hills, singing to the green valleys” (Masters, Edgar Lee. "Lucinda Matlock."). As she begins to speak about her connection with nature, the poem relates nature to
With the coming of the new century America 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.
The overall themes of this poem are beauty, love, and destiny. The speaker constantly discusses beautiful things and how they can help us. Love can be felt throughout the entire poem. In the first stanza, the speaker verbalizes how he “came with love of the race.” He also expresses love for the beautiful things around him. The theme destiny can be seen in the third stanza when the speaker talks about staying on course. It can also be identified in the last stanza when he describes something inevitable that was about to
To some this story might seem like a tragedy, but to Christians this is a beautiful story. Although young Harry dies at the end, he is accepted into the kingdom of God, which is far superior to anything on Earth. A non-religious family raises him and the first taste of Christianity he gets makes him want to pursue God. In Flannery O’Conner’s short story, The River, the allure of Gods grace and the repelling of sinful ways are shown heavily through Harry.
Sexton connects her misfortunes in life to the memories of her childhood and she awakens herself from the dream she has fabricated over time to the truth of her reality. As the poem progresses from the line mentioned above, Sexton becomes more frantic and distraught.
This poem holds many metaphors and symbols pertaining to how certain seasons make people feel. She compares the feeling of nature with her personal feelings of being alone after having so many lovers. In “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” Millay reminisces back to a time when she had one lover after another. She cries because she lost them all and instead of opening her heart to them and offering her love, she remained closed off and simply enjoyed the physical connections. Edna St. Vincent Millay may have imagined a speaker for this poem, but she makes it seem as if it is coming from her own personal experiences.
When given a chance to become a hero would you take it? Cowardice and courage are main themes in numerous of Tim O’Brien’s stories. “On the Rainy River”, a short story by O’Brien, the author uses a variety of figurative language, follows the conventional mythological structure with a twist, and the theme of cowardice.
Lucinda lived a very long life of ninety-six years. From what Masters conveyed with his poem, it seemed like Lucinda enjoyed her life and was very satisfied with everything she had accomplished. In the first few lines of the poem she talks about going to different dances and how the frequently switched partners, until one day she met Davis. They were soon married and stayed together for seventy years. She and Davis had twelve children, but eight of them died. How the eight children died when never explained in the poem, but it could relate to the time period in which the poem was placed in. In the early 1900?s it was normal to have many children, but unless a family had the resources needed, some of the children may die. She also did many activities such as spinning, weaving, kept the house up and also nursed the sick, which could relate to the time period this poem is taking place in also. The intent that the author was trying to get across is one that, people could life happy lives in a very simplistic way, such as Lucinda did.
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
The poem begins by saying ‘I was a cottage maiden’. It is a simple beginning, talking in the past tense. She tells us she is lower class person.
This stanza begins the encounter. It sets the scene saying it is a lazy street. He begins to describe the woman's beauty, pointing out her hazel eyes and tiny feet.
In the book The Things They Carried, the author Tim O’Brien uses conflict and symbolism to show the central idea that sometimes people can fail to be brave enough. O’Brien shows this central idea throughout the whole book and especially during the chapter “The Lives of the Dead”.
...sed society with religious overtones throughout the poem, as though religion and God are placing pressure on her. The is a very deep poem that can be taken in may ways depending on the readers stature yet one thing is certain; this poem speaks on Woman’s Identity.
The Rainy River is a watercourse between Minnesota and Canada which tested O’Brien’s bravery to either enlist in or flee the Vietnam War. O’Brien states that the “The Rainy River… separated one life from another.” He also states that, “...Canadian waters, across... dotted line between two different worlds.” When he was in the river, he sees “hallucination” of his family and friends which reminded him of “ the embarrassment” he felt for running away. The Rainy River symbolized the rebirth of O’Brien into a new world. He also uses symbolism to portray the old man like a god. Tim O’Brien states that Elroy Berdahl “saved his life”. Tim was lost emotionally when he arrived at Canada. Elroy guided him and “offered exactly what(he) needed”. “He was there at a critical time.” Elroy knew O’Brien situation and wanted to help him make the right choice. On the 7th day, Elroy “guided(him) across the river” and “...must’ve planned it.” That day, the necessity of making a choice once and for all becomes clear to O’Brien.
Although this section is the easiest to read, it sets up the action and requires the most "reading between the lines" to follow along with the quick and meaningful happenings. Millay begins her poem by describing, in first person, the limitations of her world as a child. She links herself to these nature images and wonders about what the world is like beyond the islands and mountains. The initial language and writing style hint at a child-like theme used in this section. This device invites the reader to sit back and enjoy the poem without the pressure to understand complex words and structure.
Overall, the imagery that Plath creates is framed by her diction and is used to convey her emotions toward all relationships and probably even her own marriage to Ted Hughes, who had rude, disorderly habits. Even the structure of the poem is strict in appearance as each stanza ends with a period and consists of exactly six lines. In addition, the persona of the poem is very detached and realistic, so much that it is hard to distinguish between her and Plath, herself. However, Plath insinuates that the woman actually wants love deep down, but finds the complexity and unpredictability of love to be frightening. As a result, she settles for solitude as a defense against her underlying fear.