Daniel M’Cumber
When I went to the city, Mary McNeely,I meant to return for you, yes I did.But Laura, my landlady’s daughter,Stole into my life somehow, and won me away.Then after some years whom should I meetBut Georgine Miner from Niles—a sproutOf the free love, Fourierist gardens that flourishedBefore the war all over Ohio.Her dilettante lover had tired of her,And she turned to me for strength and solace.She was some kind of a crying thingOne takes in one’s arms, and all at onceIt slimes your face with its running nose,And voids its essence all over you;Then bites your hand and springs away.And there you stand bleeding and smelling to heavenWhy, Mary McNeely, I was not worthyTo kiss the hem of your robe!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- laura n.
- A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior. C. Kingsley.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- miner n.
- One who mines; a digger for metals, etc.; one engaged in the business of getting ore, coal, or precious stones, out of the earth; one who digs military mines; as, armies have sappers and miners. [Cf. F. mineur.]
- fourierist n.
- One who adopts the views of Fourier.
- dilettante n.
- An admirer or lover of the fine arts; popularly, an amateur; especially, one who follows an art or a branch of knowledge, desultorily, or for amusement only. [It., prop. p. pr. of dillettare to take delight in, fr. L. delectare to delight. See Delight, v. t.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Daniel M’Cumber 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, Daniel M’Cumber, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/daniel-m-cumber.html, id L07831.
Form and metre
Daniel M’Cumber is 18 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%). 85% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 39% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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 ---A----------A--- mcneely · did · daughter · awayA · meet · sprout · flourished · ohio · her · solace · thing · once · nose · you · awayA · heaven · worthy · robe
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. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When I went to the city, Mary McNeely, | 12 | ·····/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| I meant to return for you, yes I did. | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| But Laura, my landlady’s daughter, | 9 | ·/˘·/·˘/˘ |
| Stole into my life somehow, and won me away. | 12 | ·····/····˘/ |
| Then after some years whom should I meet | 9 | ········· |
| But Georgine Miner from Niles—a sprout | 9 | ··//˘···· |
| Of the free love, Fourierist gardens that flourished | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| Before the war all over Ohio. | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| Her dilettante lover had tired of her, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And she turned to me for strength and solace. | 10 | ········/˘ |
| She was some kind of a crying thing | 9 | ······/˘· |
| One takes in one’s arms, and all at once | 9 | ········· |
| It slimes your face with its running nose, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And voids its essence all over you; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Then bites your hand and springs away. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And there you stand bleeding and smelling to heaven | 12 | ····/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Why, Mary McNeely, I was not worthy | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| To kiss the hem of your robe! | 7 | ······· |
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.