Spoon River Anthology Essay

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

Margaret, Fully a Slacker Everyone has a novel within them -- or at least thinks they do. Unfortunately, few manage to get that novel out of their heads and into print. In Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, Margaret Fuller Slack is certain that she would have been a famous novelist, except obligations to her family got in the way of actually writing a book. She is unendingly bitter about how her life turned out. Margaret urges readers to ignore the pull of outside forces and to specifically

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

3. Literary Analysis Edgar Lee Masters is best known for his book Spoon River Anthology. Spoon River Anthology is considered by some critics, like Ernest Earnest, to be one of the greatest poetry collections in American literature. One of the most popular poems in Spoon River Anthology is “Lucinda Matlock.” In “Lucinda Matlock,” Masters concocts a fictional character, who is based on his grandmother, that tells readers from beyond the grave about the beauty and the pain that she faced in her life

Loss is inevitable, there is a time in everyone's life that this pain will be felt, yet dealing with it shows the true character of the person. The book of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters displays the true meaning of that statement. The characters throughout explain the many struggles faced in their life, all the way until their death. In The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, the main character is doomed from the very beginning. He demonstrates the life of an immigrant, poor, nasty, brutish. He

to decline as well at the rate of divorces rising it is no surprise that marriage and love has lost the value it once had. Edgar Lee Masters writer of the “Spoon River Anthology” also seems to feel that romantic relationships have also lost its value during his time. He is able to display this though several of his poems within the anthology. His unhappiness with love, romance, relationships and marriage are shown through his poems that illustrate unhappy marriages as well as the deaths connected

compass of your soul, 11. Your soul takes fire, 12. And in the conflagration of your soul 13. The evil of the world is lighted up and made clear-- 14. Be thankful if in that hour of supreme vision 15. Life does not fiddle. When viewing over Spoon

In Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, Margaret Fuller Slack is an aspiring writer, whose notions of future greatness are foiled by, on a surface level, her marriage, and children. As a result, Margaret is bitter, resentful, and accusatory. In actuality, Margaret and her notion of personal privilege destroy her future. Masters’ poem is a cautionary tale regarding entitlement and laziness, an acknowledgment of the necessity of personal responsibility, and an example of a wasted life. Masters

Nellie Clark, Nancy Knapp, Mrs. George Reece Throughout certain peoples lives, life can be a bit harder than that of others. In the book “Spoon River Anthology” By: Edgar Lee Masters many stated that life wasn’t very easy for them or for some other person in their life. These characters usually had very rough lives and or had rough deaths. In the the section of Fiddler Jones to Mrs. Reece, three characters that I chose were Nellie Clark, Nancy Knapp, and Mrs. George Reece. For them, life was not

To Love Or Be Loved In the book Spoon River Anthology, author Edgar Lee Masters uses epitaphs to recap the lives of the Midwestern people that lived in a town called Spoon River. Masters awakens the souls of the people to tell the secrets of their lives and the myths of moral superiority of the town. Spoon River is an evil and corrupt city filled with sneaky, conniving people and a few good hearts. Spoon River Anthology describes the relationships and marriages of the people in the town. Some of