Analysis of Eugene Carman
Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)
Rhodes' slave! Selling shoes and gingham,
Flour and bacon, overalls, clothing, all day long
For fourteen hours a day for three hundred and thirteen days
For more than twenty years.
Saying "Yes'm" and "Yes, sir", and "Thank you"
A thousand times a day, and all for fifty dollars a month.
Living in this stinking room in the rattle-trap "Commercial."
And compelled to go to Sunday School, and to listen
To the Rev. Abner Peet one hundred and four times a year
For more than an hour at a time,
Because Thomas Rhodes ran the church
As well as the store and the bank.
So while I was tying my neck-tie that morning
I suddenly saw myself in the glass:
My hair all gray, my face like a sodden pie.
So I cursed and cursed: You damned old thing
You cowardly dog! You rotten pauper!
You Rhodes' slave! Till Roger Baughman
Thought I was having a fight with some one,
And looked through the transom just in time
To see me fall on the floor in a heap
From a broken vein in my head.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOMPHHJQR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101010 100101010111 111100111100111 111101 1011011011 010101011101001 100110100101010 001111110110 10110111001101 111110101 01101101 11101001 111110111110 110011001 11111110101 111011111 1100111010 11111010 1111001111 011010101 1111101001 10101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 954 |
Words | 187 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 22 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 747 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 184 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 111 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Eugene Carman" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8565/eugene-carman>.
Discuss this Edgar Lee Masters poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In