Love Hurts With divorce rates of today being at an all time high, people say that marriage has lost its value. 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, Margaret Fuller Slack’s loveless relationship with her husband is a main factor in her death. In the poem, Margaret Fuller Slack, …show more content…
This is one way that Masters displays his discontent toward romantic relationships. Also, Masters uses Amanda Barker’s loveless and hateful relationship with her husband Henry as the cause of her death. In the poem Amanda Barker, the character tells of how she died at a young age at the fault of her husband. Masters wrote: “HENRY got me with child, /Knowing that I could not bring forth life /Without losing my own.” Here, the character, Amanda Barker, retells of how her husband, Henry, killed her. He was fully aware that she could not have a child without losing her own life, yet he impregnates her anyway. She also tells of how the townspeople believed that her husband loved her, but this was not the truth. Masters wrote: “…it is believed in the village where I lived /That Henry loved me with a husband’s love /But I proclaim from the dust /That he slew me to gratify his hatred.” If it where not for her relationship with Henry, she would not have died young. This, once again, shows Edgar Lee Masters’ feelings about marriage. By often using marriage and relationships as an important factor in the death of many of his characters, Lee confirms his doubt in them. Finally, Tom Merritt’s death had occurred because of his wife’s romantic relationship with a lover. The poems, Tom Merritt, Mrs. Merritt, and Elmer Karr tell the story of a married woman’s affair with a young man who, in the end, kills her husband. From the husband Tom’s
The River by Gary Paulsen is a Realistic Fiction novel. The River has 133 pages. According to a customer review on Amazon, “I loved how Brian returned just to save people's lives.” I think the intended audience is for 3rd grade and up because there are some terms and words that young children won’t understand.
Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Sommers have a fair share of intemperance. Mrs. Mallard has come to the realization that the death of her husband is not only a tragic occurrence, but also a beneficial cutting of her previously binding marital ties. The crisis of her grief has given her new insight on her life, and Mrs. Mallard understands that her marriage has limited her independence and freedom. Due to this realization she immediately forgets about the accident and starts to think about her freedom: ““Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering” (paragraph 14). It is only an hour after Mrs. Mallard has received the bitter news of her husband’s death. Considering that her husband is gone, instead of mourning, she is overwhelmed with the freedom she
When her husband is killed in a train accident Mrs. Mallard cries, but for different reasons than would be expected. She is sad for her husband’s death, but, moreover, she is overcome with joy. For now she is free. No one recognizes her true emotions because women fall apart when their spouse dies; it’s required. Marriage is portrayed as a life sentence. "She said it over and over again under her breath: ‘free, free, free!' Her pulse beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body"(1). Mrs. Mallard was relieved that her husband died for she thought her sentence was over. When she realized that he was still alive, and therefore she was still committed to the marriage, she died from the shock and horror of being trapped.
Initially, Mrs. Mallard reacts with great sadness over the news of her husband’s death. Knowing that Mrs. Mallard suffers from “heart trouble”, Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister decides to “hint” her the news of Brently’s death in “broken sentences”. Josephine assumes that Mrs. Mallard “[loves]” her husband, and naturally
Of all the characters in Spoon River, only one has the key ingredient that makes the book complete; that person is Zilpha Marsh. Even though Zilpha is mentioned only once within the book, she represents a controversial issue debated everywhere and can be related to people in real life. Zilpha represents mystery, supernatural, and spiritual beings, every word that is written about her suggest a deeper and more complex meaning; her entire character permeates an eerie feeling that adds the extra spice to Soon River. Zilpha is the only character that follows a different pattern and has the most character within a poem. Although the poem stated nothing about her death, family, friends, or even her life, the
Master establishes a foil in these two Spoon River Anthology poems as the reader observes the differences in the characters’ lives and outlooks. Uniquely, Masters creates characters who have died and now look back on their lives to give advice to the reader. For example, in “George Gray”, George is dead but knows he did not live life with a purpose. He
This poem by Charlotte Mew tells a story in which a farmer marries a very young girl who could not be less ready to marry. The maid in this poem is abused throughout the poem by her so called husband who does not treat her even as a human. Her marriage arranged at a young age the girl is forced into adult duties and actions much too early. This cause many issues to her mental health and her trust towards other humans. The farmer, as the narrator, uses several similes throughout the poem comparing the maid to a rabbit. This shows how he views her and why he treats her like he does in the poem. The six uneven stanzas allows Mew to express her intentions not limited to another's style. This allows for amazing line placement throughout the poem, and the only form she follows throughout the poem is iambic tetrameter. There is no rhyme scheme allowing Mew to have freedom like the girl so much desires. In “The Farmer’s Bride”, Charlotte Mew uses irregular rhyme and form with iambic tetrameter, as well as thorough imagery and comparison to show the broken marriage in this poem.
In this reading, the narrator talks about the reaction of Mrs. Millard who had heart problems, when she notices of her husband´s death. Louise Mallard is at home with her sister Josephine, when they hear of a rain accident; then Josephine tells Louise that her husband has been killed it in the accident.
With concern for her heart condition, Josephine cautiously broke the news to Mrs.Mallard that her husband had been killed in a train accident. Mrs. Mallard grieved for a while then decided she needed a minute alone, she went upstairs to where the window was open. As she sat trying to process her emotions, she found herself overwhelmed with joy, she felt free as last from her estranged marriage and looked forward to days for herself. Once she had composed herself, she began to head back downstairs noticing the front door opening as Mr. Mallard walked in. Per the doctors, she had died of heart disease from joy.
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.
Finally, the reader is introduced to the character around whom the story is centered, the accursed murderess, Mrs. Wright. She is depicted to be a person of great life and vitality in her younger years, yet her life as Mrs. Wright is portrayed as one of grim sameness, maintaining a humorless daily grind, devoid of life as one regards it in a normal social sense. Although it is clear to the reader that Mrs. Wright is indeed the culprit, she is portrayed sympathetically because of that very lack of normalcy in her daily routine. Where she was once a girl of fun and laughter, it is clear that over the years she has been forced into a reclusive shell by a marriage to a man who has been singularly oppressive. It is equally clear that she finally was brought to her personal breaking point, dealing with her situation in a manner that was at once final and yet inconclusive, depending on the outcome of the legal investigation. It is notable that regardless of the outcome, Mrs. Wright had finally realized a state of peace within herself, a state which had been denied her for the duration of her relationship with the deceased.
While Mrs. Mallard remembers Mr. Mallard as a kind and tender man who loved her, she also viewed him as the oppression that marriage put upon women and men. While Mr. Mallard was kind and loving to his wife, he was also controlling and overbearing. Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister and Richards, Mr. Mallard’s friend is there to break the news of Mr. Mallard’s death. Richards has learned of Mr. Mallard’s death at the newspaper office, not wanting to believe the information that was received, Richards waited for the new to be delivered for a second time before enlisting the help of Josephine. They are both there to support Mrs. Mallard and their support shows that they care for Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.
“My Husband Discovers Poetry”, by Diane Lockward is a very interesting piece of poetry that I have thoroughly enjoyed delving into. The idea behind the poem is that the writer felt angry and discouraged because her husband would never read her work, so essentially to get back at him she wrote a poem about cheating on him. She hid it away in the hopes that he would one day find and read it. This poem is Lockward telling the story of writing her poem, and what happens when her husband finally discovers it. The meaning of the poem is that we must support our loved ones.
the theme of death. The speaker of the poems talks about the loss of a
Next, Mrs. Mallard was a woman who suffered from the times where women were treated with less value and importance. She lost her own life because rejoice at her husband’s tragedy. Her uncontrollable desire to be free made her become a frivolous woman, who let his personal longing’s end with his own life. When she realized that her husband was alive all his plans vanished. Her happiness was a temporary happiness which lasted less than an hour.