Reflection: Spoon River Anthology by: Edgar Lee Masters

Spoon River Anthology is actually a collection of epitaphs. This is just simply a collection of poems that are all about different characters in a small town and how they are all related in some way. It reveals life how it really is. This is a characteristic of Realism. They were really into telling about life how it really was. They were not concerned with sugar coating the truth. This was a really good representation of the Realism period. In Lucinda Matlock, Lucinda just tells you about her life and how she lived into the age of 96. She says that the younger generations complain about everything and she also says that the younger generations do not live life to the fullest. She views the younger generation has a way lower importance than her own generation. Emerson was really interested in the difference between the levels of people. He says that we are all missing something. A major inspiration for Spoon River Anthology was Epigrams from the Greek Anthology, a work to which Masters was introduced by William Marion Reedy, editor of the St. Louis magazine Reedy's Mirror that first published many of his poems (Becker). He says that all people are missing something. No body is perfect, so they have to have something wrong with them. Each person has their own unique balance of these four basic energies: fire (warmth, inspiration, enthusiasm), earth (practicality, realism, material interests), air (social and intellectual qualities), and water (emotional needs and feelings)(Ralph Waldo Emerson General Characteristics). I think that it is really interesting that Edgar Lee Masters was from Illinois. He lived only about a hour away from where I am right now. His works are actually well known and he lived really close to us. This goes to show that not all famous people come from like New York or California. I think that this collection of stories was really interesting and I think that I may want to read more of these in my spare time.


Becker, Geraldine Cannon. "Spoon River Anthology." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds.Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1405&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 2, 2012).


Masters, Edgar Lee. Spoon River Anthology. New York, 1951. Print.


"Ralph Waldo Emersongeneral Characteristics." Ralph Waldo Emerson Characteristics. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. <http://famous-relationships.topsynergy.com/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson/Characteristics.asp>.