Tag: character sketches

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Julia Miller”

Edgar Lee Masters’ American-Innovative sonnet “Julia Miller” from his American classic Spoon River Anthology reveals a troubled soul who leaves the world with the words of Jesus flickering before her eyes.

Introduction and Text of “Julia Miller”

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Julia Miller” from his American classic Spoon River Anthology vaguely resembles an American-Innovative sonnet, with its movements seeming to  follow the Italian form as practiced by Elizabeth Barrett Browning in her Sonnets from the Portuguese. 

Masters’ choice of the American-Innovative sonnet likely reveals the notion that he wants to suggest this particular character is more poetic than some others, whose diatribes remain rather prosaic.

Julia Miller

We quarreled that morning,
For he was sixty-five, and I was thirty,
And I was nervous and heavy with the child
Whose birth I dreaded.
I thought over the last letter written me
By that estranged young soul
Whose betrayal of me I had concealed  
By marrying the old man.
Then I took morphine and sat down to read.
Across the blackness that came over my eyes
I see the flickering light of these words even now:
“And Jesus said unto him, Verily  
I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt  
Be with me in paradise.”

Commentary on “Julia Miller”

Edgar Lee Master’s American-Innovative sonnet reveals a troubled woman who leaves the world with the words of Jesus flickering before her eyes.  The sonnet remains quite minimalist in its execution.  The speaker reveals several pertinent facts about herself but little by way any of in depth thought about her history.

First Movement:  Quarreling with an Old Man

We quarreled that morning,
For he was sixty-five, and I was thirty,
And I was nervous and heavy with the child
Whose birth I dreaded.

In Masters’ first movement, which corresponds to the first octave quatrain of the Italian sonnet, the speaker begins cryptically by asserting, “[w]e quarreled that morning.” She then reveals that it is an old man with whom she has quarreled, “[f]or he was sixty-five, and I was thirty.”  But she seems not to want to reveal too much too soon.

Julia, however, continues to disclose that she is quite far along in pregnancy and that she was not happy about giving birth to this child; in fact, she says that she dreads the coming birth.  At this point, the reader might assume that the young woman is an unwed woman and has quarreled with her own father. 

Second Movement:  Speculation

I thought over the last letter written me
By that estranged young soul
Whose betrayal of me I had concealed  
By marrying the old man.

The second movement, which echoes the second quatrain in the octave of the Italian sonnet, unlocks the mystery that Julia has been slowly narrating.  She reveals that she had been thinking about “the last letter written me” by a young man, whom she describes as “that estranged young soul.”

It turns out that Julia married the old man, with whom she has just quarreled, to cover up the fact that this “estranged young soul” had impregnated her and then deserted her.   Had Julia admitted to the old man her true reason for becoming his wife?  She allows the listener only to speculate.

Third Movement:  Suicide

Then I took morphine and sat down to read.
Across the blackness that came over my eyes
I see the flickering light of these words even now:

The third movement then takes its form from the first tercet of the sextet of the Italian sonnet form.   In this movement, Julia reports that she has taken morphine “and sat down to read.”  She is committing suicide, and as she waits for death, she sees “the flickering light” of some words.  And she asserts that even after death, she still continues to see those words.

Fourth Movement:  Flickering Words

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily  
I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt  
Be with me in paradise.”

The final movement, which completes the Italianesque echo of the second tercet of the sextet, features the Bible verse with which Julia Miller leaves this world. From the Bible verse, the implication arises that Julia feels rather optimistic about her journey after death as she takes the words of Jesus the Christ with her:

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. (KJV Luke 23:43)

In addition to fixing the text into three lines, Masters’ made only two other small changes to the quotation: he inserts a hyphen in the word “Today,” and then he reverses the order from the original “shalt thou” to “thou shalt.”

A Chosen Few

One might speculate that Masters wanted to infuse certain narrators with a more poetic spirit than others; thus he employs certain poetic forms to reveal those individuals.   Oddly enough, it seems that “Julia Miller” is one of those chosen few.  Masters’ choices, as he dramatizes his characters, could infuse and inform a marvelous character-study of not only the speakers in the epitaphs but also of Edgar Lee Masters himself.

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Flossie Cabanis”

Flossie Cabanis bemoans two great failures in her life:  fame as a Broadway star and a relationship with a rising “romantic actor.”

Introduction and Text of “Flossie Cabanis”

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Flossie Cabanis” from his American classic Spoon River Anthology features a drama queen who wishes that “Duse could stand amid the pathos / Of these quiet fields / And read these words.”

Flossie alludes to the Italian actress, Eleonora Duse, who was noted for making lavish, sweeping statements, such as “If I had my will, I would live in a ship on the sea and never come nearer to humanity than that!”

 Flossie Cabanis 

From Bindle’s opera house in the village  
To Broadway is a great step.
But I tried to take it, my ambition fired
When sixteen years of age,  
Seeing “East Lynne” played here in the village
By Ralph Barrett, the coming
Romantic actor, who enthralled my soul.  
True, I trailed back home, a broken failure,
When Ralph disappeared in New York,  
Leaving me alone in the city—
But life broke him also.  
In all this place of silence  
There are no kindred spirits.
How I wish Duse could stand amid the pathos  
Of these quiet fields
And read these words.

Commentary on “Flossie Cabanis”

Flossie Cabanis bemoans two great failures in her life:  fame as a Broadway star and a relationship with a rising “romantic actor.”

First Movement:  Broadway a Big Step

From Bindle’s opera house in the village  
To Broadway is a great step.

Flossie reports that there is a great difference in stature between “Broadway” and “Bindle’s opera house,” the local playhouse in Spoon River.  She calls that difference a “great step.” 

Second Movement:   Stage Stirred Her Soul

But I tried to take it, my ambition fired
When sixteen years of age,  
Seeing “East Lynne” played here in the village
By Ralph Barrett, the coming
Romantic actor, who enthralled my soul.  

The fact that the step was great, however, did not stop Flossie from making the effort by taking that step.  Her ambition was made itself known and became very strong when she was sixteen years old.   At that young age, Flossie attended the play “East Lynne” featuring Ralph Barrett, who was a rising star of stage.  This “romantic actor” stirred this ambition in her soul.

Third Movement:  New York Ordeal?

True, I trailed back home, a broken failure,
When Ralph disappeared in New York,  
Leaving me alone in the city—

Completely skipping over her ordeal in New York, Flossie admits that she relocated back to Spoon River and considered herself “a broken failure.”  Not only did she fail in pursuing her acting career, but she also failed to hold on to a relationship with Ralph.  

She reports that Ralph “disappeared in New York.”  Flossie was thus left alone to fend for herself in New York City.   She has not given any indication about how long she had remained in New York.  Her only focus is on her failures.

Fourth Movement:  A Failing Pair

But life broke him also.  
In all this place of silence  
There are no kindred spirits.

Flossie then confides that not only was she a “broken failure,” but so was Ralph.  She does not elaborate, but she does offer a pregnant silence that allows her listener to imagine the pain and disappointment of both would-be stars.

Flossie then describes Spoon River as a “place of silence” where there exist for her “no kindred spirits.”  Her ambition could not be realized in such a place, for she found no one with whom she could confide or share.

Fifth Movement:  A Sense of Drama

How I wish Duse could stand amid the pathos  
Of these quiet fields
And read these words.

The one quality that Flossie continues to retain is her sense of drama.  She expresses the desire to have the melodramatic Italian actress Eleonora Duse stand out in the fields surrounding Spoon River and deliver her lament.  For Flossie those fields are filled with “pathos.”  

Minimalist Sketch

Flossie’s minimalist sketch leaves much to the imagination of her listener/reader.  It is only through very broad hints that the reader can interpret Flossie’s true ambitions.   It is possible that her only ambition was to become and remain the mate of Ralph Barrett as he pursued the heights of stardom on the stage.

Thus it is quite likely that she had no real aspirations of following an acting career for herself.   However, by introducing and alluding to the famous Italian actress, she seems to be presenting Duse as her rôle model; the reader may, therefore, infer that Flossie’s ambition was two-fold:  she wanted both an acting career and a relationship with Barrett but failed at both.

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Andy the Night-Watch”

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Andy the Night-Watch” remains one of the more pleasant accounts, as Andy reports his simple duties as a Spoon River security guard.

Introduction and Text of “Andy the Night-Watch”

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Andy the Night-Watch” from the American classic Spoon River Anthology features a night watchman who mentions another Spoon River resident Doc Hill in his report.   Andy’s account is straight forward without the innuendos that accompany many of the reports.  Andy is philosophical about his lot, seeing himself in a long line of men who have performed his job of night watchman for Spoon River.

Interestingly, because Andy encounters Doc Hill in his nightly duties, he supports the physician’s claim made in his epitaph that he had gone about Spoon River both night and day caring for the sick.  Andy passes no moral judgment on the doc.  

And Andy reveals no moral turpitude as so many of these characters do. Andy’s apparent guilelessness makes him one of the most appealing characters of the Spoon River citizens.  Most want to excuse their own sins while blaming others for them.

Therefore, Andy’s epitaph surfaces as one of the more pleasant accounts, as he reports the simple duties he performed as a Spoon River security guard.   Andy’s only purpose is to offer a brief report about how he spent his time and to contrast his purpose on earth with his current tranquility, which he seems to appreciate.

Andy the Night-Watch 

In my Spanish cloak,
And old slouch hat,
And overshoes of felt,
And Tyke, my faithful dog,
And my knotted hickory cane,
I slipped about with a bull’s-eye lantern
From door to door on the square,
As the midnight stars wheeled round,
And the bell in the steeple murmured  
From the blowing of the wind;
And the weary steps of old Doc Hill
Sounded like one who walks in sleep,
And a far-off rooster crew.  
And now another is watching Spoon River
As others watched before me.
And here we lie, Doc Hill and I
Where none breaks through and steals,
And no eye needs to guard.

Commentary on “Andy the Night-Watch”

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Andy the Night-Watch” reports his simple duties as a Spoon River security guard and then makes an interesting statement of comparison between his earthly life and his after-life.

First Movement:  A Guard’s Accessories

In my Spanish cloak,
And old slouch hat,
And overshoes of felt,
And Tyke, my faithful dog,
And my knotted hickory cane,

Andy first describes his clothing and accessories, reporting that he wore a cloak which he describes as “Spanish.”  He donned a hat which was of the old and slouch variety. Finally, he wore overshoes made of felt—likely so he could amble about quietly on his nightly duties.

For company and possible security assistance, Andy kept his companion pet dog Tyke along with him.  And he also carried a cane made of “knotted hickory.”  Such are the simple necessities for a night watchman in the small town of Spoon River.  Apparently, there was no need for a weapon other than the hickory cane.  

Second Movement:  A Guard’s Duties

I slipped about with a bull’s-eye lantern
From door to door on the square,
As the midnight stars wheeled round,
And the bell in the steeple murmured  
From the blowing of the wind;

After cataloguing his accessories, Andy then proceeds to report his duties.  But before mentioning his duties, he inserts a further item, a lantern with a bull’s eye, to fill out the list of accessories that he either carried or wore.

Andy describes his movement as “slip[ping] about,” likely indicating that he moved slowly as he checked the status of each door to the businesses and offices in town.  Most nights he was fortunate that not much seemed to be happening, so he was free to notice the “midnight stars” that “wheeled around.”  

He also notes that he listened to “the bell in the steeple,” which he describes as making a murmuring sound as the wind blew past.  Again, Andy is demonstrating a calm, appreciative individual whose demeanor contrasts greatly with so many of the angry, vengeful after-life reporters from the Spoon River Cemetery.

Third Movement:    Old Doc Hill

And the weary steps of old Doc Hill
Sounded like one who walks in sleep,
And a far-off rooster crew.  

It is in the third movement that Andy mentions “old Doc Hill,” whom the reader has previously encountered among these Spoon River after-death reporters.    Andy would hear the doctor’s “weary steps,” and Andy claims that those steps made it seem that the doctor might be walking in his sleep.  Likely, the shuffling sound put Andy in mind of sleep-walkers.

Andy then mentions that he heard a far-off rooster crowing, which suggests that it is close to dawn.  The implication supports Doc Hill’s report that he went about caring for the sick all through the night.

Fourth Movement:   Now Someone Else Guards

And now another is watching Spoon River
As others watched before me.
And here we lie, Doc Hill and I
Where none breaks through and steals,
And no eye needs to guard.

Andy then returns to his present circumstances wherein he, with a touch of melancholy, avers that someone else is now performing his night job of “watching Spoon River.”   And Andy places himself in the long line of history; the new person is watching “as others watched before me,” he philosophically opines.

Both Andy and Doc Hill are now in their graves where no medical attention is required and where no one will break in to steal from rightful owners.  No one needs “to guard” anything in this final resting place.

Andy has successfully compared his earthly duties to his duties in his current circumstance by simply stating the fact that no one ever breaks into things in the after-life world to steal things.  Thus, in that place, it is not necessary to have men who watch the night, which can become a dangerous, crime infested time on earth among the living.

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Doc Hill”

Doc Hill was spurned by his wife and apparently also by his lackluster son.  The sad physician turned to healing the sick to find an outlet for his love and affection.

Introduction and Text of “Doc Hill”

The 13-line epitaph “Doc Hill” from Edgar Lee Masters’ American classic, Spoon River Anthology features the pathetic character of a town doctor who basically lived his life through the people he cared for in his medical practice.  Like many of the other graveyard complaining epitaphs, Doc Hill’s is full of pathos and self-pity.  

But while apparently erasing from memory his own family, the physician does hold special regard for the many mourners who attended his funeral.  He especially entertained deep sorrow, however, for one Spoon River resident, Em Stanton. 

Although the doc does not elaborate upon his relationship with Em Stanton, his reticence allows his audience to imagine the extent that would cause him such sorrow at seeing her standing alone grieving.

Doc Hill 

I went up and down the streets
Here and there by day and night,
Through all hours of the night caring for the poor who were sick.
Do you know why?  
My wife hated me, my son went to the dogs.
And I turned to the people and poured out my love to them.
Sweet it was to see the crowds about the lawns on the day of my funeral,  
And hear them murmur their love and sorrow.
But oh, dear God, my soul trembled, scarcely able
To hold to the railing of the new life
When I saw Em Stanton behind the oak tree
At the grave,
Hiding herself, and her grief!

Commentary on “Doc Hill”

Doc Hill confesses that his attention to his medical practice was only in part to assist the needy; it also assisted him by infusing into his life the love and affection that he failed to find in his own family life.

The dejected Doc Hill harbors a secret that will remain a mystery. Readers are left to imagine the meaning of the implied relationship between the physician and Em Stanton, a woman who secretly visits the gravesite as the doctor’s body is being interred.

First Movement:  The Wages of Altruism?

I went up and down the streets
Here and there by day and night,
Through all hours of the night caring for the poor who were sick.

The doc begins by reporting that he spent most of his time with his patients, most of whom were poor as well as sick.   Doc Hill made his way along the streets of the town during both daylight hours and during the nighttime.  His reason for spending that time away from home was in order to care for sick people, who needed and appreciated him.  

As the doc’s life centered on his profession, he seemingly behaved as a rather altruistic individual.  However, readers become more and more skeptical of the scads of information given out by these Spoon River grave reporters.  

Most of epitaphs include in their reporting complaints offered solely for the purpose of rehabilitating their reputations.  Instead of accepting any fault on their part, they are quick to lay all blame on others for their pathetic lots.  

While Doc Hill has some blame to lay on his wife and his reprobate son, his main issue is that while he was seemingly abandoned and/or mistreated by his own family, the many sick and poor people of the town came to love him for his medical service to them.

Yet, the physician seems to leave open the possibility that his motives were perhaps not as selfless and altruistic as they may seem.  Thus he finds it important to explain his reasoning for giving so much attention to others outside of his home life.

Second Movement:  No Love at Home

Do you know why?  
My wife hated me, my son went to the dogs.
And I turned to the people and poured out my love to them.

Lest one think the doctor was an entirely altruistic workaholic or simply obsessed with his medical practice, he wants to explain that such was not the case.  The doc begins by proffering the question as to why he spent so much time with his ill patients.  

He then reveals “why”:  His wife detested him, and his son felt no better toward his father.  Thus the doc had no family life.  He offers no details about his wife and son, other than that they abandoned him emotionally.

The doctor had to find consolation somewhere so he turned to his profession that involved other people, particularly sick folks, who became appreciative of his services.  However, the doc does not seem to assert that he was merely looking for love for himself. 

Part of his personality seems genuinely caring, although it also offers him an excuse for remaining absent from his home, marriage, and fatherhood.  Likely the doc’s explanation makes him sound more altruistic than one who is expecting attention in return: he was looking for people to whom he could give his love and caring. 

The doc’s medical profession afforded him the opportunity, or perhaps excuse, to spend all of his time away from his own family while attending to others.  Less pathetic  and crass than many of the Spoon River crowd, he, nevertheless, remains one of the forlorn characters as he spins his yarn of sorrow.

Third Movement:   The Return of Love

Sweet it was to see the crowds about the lawns on the day of my funeral,  
And hear them murmur their love and sorrow.

Interestingly, the day’s events of his funeral allow him to revel in the return of the love he had bestowed, for he hears sweet murmurings emanating from the many folks attending the event as they offer their little tributes to the man who tended to their health needs.  Thus in death, he has achieved what he was never able to achieve in life with his own family.  

The summation of caring and affection that showed itself on the day of his funeral seems to make up for the familial affection he had not experienced.   And that lack seems to extend into death, for he mentions the presence of neither his wife nor his son at his funeral.  Readers then may assume that they were not present, or that the doc cared so little for them that he fails to bother to account for their reactions to his death.

Fourth Movement:  A Grieving Paramour?

But oh, dear God, my soul trembled, scarcely able
To hold to the railing of the new life
When I saw Em Stanton behind the oak tree
At the grave,
Hiding herself, and her grief!

However, the doc does reveal a rather mysterious implication about himself when he describes a woman, Em Stanton, whom he observes as she appears to hide “behind the oak tree,” pathetically watching the events at the grave-site.  Em Stanton appears to be assuaging her grief as she hides from the other mourners.  

The observation of Em standing behind a tree apparently grief-stricken shakes the doc so badly that he can hardly hold his soul power together as he tries to “hold to the railing of the new life.”  This extreme reaction does seem to indicate that his relationship with Em Stanton likely indicates a close and deep emotional tie.

The doc’s showering of affection on the townsfolk possibly included a romantic relationship with the woman behind the tree, Em Stanton, a woman who is now left to grieve in hiding.  By extension, readers might wonder if there may be other “Em-Stantons,” who simply failed to appear and mourn as his own family failed to appear.