Benjamin Pantier
Together in this grave lie Benjamin Pantier, attorney at law,And Nig, his dog, constant companion, solace and friend.Down the gray road, friends, children, men and women,Passing one by one out of life, left me till I was aloneWith Nig for partner, bed-fellow; comrade in drink.In the morning of life I knew aspiration and saw glory,The she, who survives me, snared my soulWith a snare which bled me to death,Till I, once strong of will, lay broken, indifferent,Living with Nig in a room back of a dingy office.Under my Jaw-bone is snuggled the bony nose of NigOur story is lost in silence. Go by, mad world!
I know that he told that I snared his soulWith a snare which bled him to death.And all the men loved him,And most of the women pitied him.But suppose you are really a lady, and have delicate tastes,And loathe the smell of whiskey and onions,And the rhythm of Wordsworth’s “Ode” runs in your ears,While he goes about from morning till nightRepeating bits of that common thing;“Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?”And then, suppose;You are a woman well endowed,And the only man with whom the law and moralityPermit you to have the marital relationIs the very man that fills you with disgustEvery time you think of it while you think of itEvery time you see him?That’s why I drove him away from homeTo live with his dog in a dingy roomBack of his office.
Words in this poem
- benjamin n.
- A kind of upper coat for men.
- attorney n.
- A substitute; a proxy; an agent. [OE. aturneye, OF. atorné, p. p. of atorner: cf. LL. atturnatus, attornatus, fr. attornare. See Attorn.]
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- aspiration n.
- The act of aspirating; the pronunciation of a letter with a full or strong emission of breath; an aspirated sound. [L. aspiratio, fr. aspirare: cf. F. aspiration.]
- whiskey n.
- A light carriage built for rapid motion; -- called also tim- whiskey. [See Whisk, v. t. & n.]
- marital a.
- Of or pertaining to a husband; as, marital rights, duties, authority. [F., fr. L. maritalis, fr. maritus belonging to marriage, n., a husband. See Marry, v.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Benjamin Pantier is in the public domain. This text is taken from Spoon River Anthology, Project Gutenberg ebook #1280; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edgar Lee Masters, Benjamin Pantier, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/benjamin-pantier.html, id L07755.
Form and metre
Benjamin Pantier is 32 lines in 2 stanzas. 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.9 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 --AA-------- law · friend · womenA · aloneA · drink · glory · soul · death · indifferent · office · nig · world
- 2 --AA-----B-B----A--- soul · death · himA · himA · tastes · onions · ears · night · thing · proudB · suppose · endowedB · morality · relation · disgust · it · himA · home · room · office
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Together in this grave lie Benjamin Pantier, attorney at law, | 17 | ˘/˘····/˘˘··˘/˘·· |
| And Nig, his dog, constant companion, solace and friend. | 13 | ····/˘˘/˘/˘·· |
| Down the gray road, friends, children, men and women, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Passing one by one out of life, left me till I was alone | 15 | /˘···········˘/ |
| With Nig for partner, bed-fellow; comrade in drink. | 12 | ···/˘·/˘/··· |
| In the morning of life I knew aspiration and saw glory, | 16 | ··/˘·····˘/˘··/˘ |
| The she, who survives me, snared my soul | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| With a snare which bled me to death, | 8 | ········ |
| Till I, once strong of will, lay broken, indifferent, | 12 | ·······/˘˘/˘ |
| Living with Nig in a room back of a dingy office. | 14 | /˘········/˘/˘ |
| Under my Jaw-bone is snuggled the bony nose of Nig | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| Our story is lost in silence. Go by, mad world! | 13 | /˘/˘···/˘···· |
| I know that he told that I snared his soul | 10 | ·········· |
| With a snare which bled him to death. | 8 | ········ |
| And all the men loved him, | 6 | ······ |
| And most of the women pitied him. | 9 | ····/˘/·· |
| But suppose you are really a lady, and have delicate tastes, | 16 | ·˘/··/˘·/˘··/˘˘· |
| And loathe the smell of whiskey and onions, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| And the rhythm of Wordsworth’s “Ode” runs in your ears, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| While he goes about from morning till night | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Repeating bits of that common thing; | 9 | ˘/˘···/˘· |
| “Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?” | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And then, suppose; | 4 | ··˘/ |
| You are a woman well endowed, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And the only man with whom the law and morality | 14 | ··/˘······˘/˘˘ |
| Permit you to have the marital relation | 12 | ˘/····/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Is the very man that fills you with disgust | 11 | ··/˘·····˘/ |
| Every time you think of it while you think of it | 13 | /˘˘·········· |
| Every time you see him? | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| That’s why I drove him away from home | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| To live with his dog in a dingy room | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Back of his office. | 5 | ···/˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.