Dora Williams
When Reuben Pantier ran away and threw meI went to Springfield. There I met a lush,Whose father just deceased left him a fortune.He married me when drunk.My life was wretched.A year passed and one day they found him dead.That made me rich. I moved on to Chicago.After a time met Tyler Rountree, villain.I moved on to New York. A gray-haired magnateWent mad about me—so another fortune.He died one night right in my arms, you know.(I saw his purple face for years thereafter. )There was almost a scandal.I moved on, This time to Paris. I was now a woman,Insidious, subtle, versed in the world and rich.My sweet apartment near the Champs ElyseesBecame a center for all sorts of people,Musicians, poets, dandies, artists, nobles,Where we spoke French and German, Italian, English.I wed Count Navigato, native of Genoa.We went to Rome. He poisoned me, I think.Now in the Campo Santo overlookingThe sea where young Columbus dreamed new worlds,See what they chiseled: “Contessa NavigatoImplora eterna quiete.”
I was the millinerTalked about, lied about,Mother of Dora,Whose strange disappearanceWas charged to her rearing.My eye quick to beautySaw much beside ribbonsAnd buckles and feathersAnd leghorns and felts,To set off sweet faces,And dark hair and gold.One thing I will tell youAnd one I will ask:The stealers of husbandsWear powder and trinkets,And fashionable hats.Wives, wear them yourselves.Hats may make divorces—They also prevent them.Well now, let me ask you:If all of the children, born here in Spoon RiverHad been reared by theCounty, somewhere on a farm;And the fathers and mothers had been given their freedomTo live and enjoy, change mates if they wished,Do you think that Spoon RiverHad been any the worse?
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- lush a.
- Full of juice or succulence. [Prob. an abbrev. of lushious, fr. luscious.]
- magnate
- A person of rank; a noble or grandee; a person of influence or distinction in any sphere. [F. magnat, L. (pl.) magnates, magnati, fr. magnus great. See Master.]
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
- scandal n.
- Offense caused or experienced; reproach or reprobation called forth by what is regarded as wrong, criminal, heinous, or flagrant: opprobrium or disgrace. [F. scandale, fr. L. scandalum, Gr. scandle, OF. escandle. See Slander.]
- insidious a.
- Lying in wait; watching an opportunity to insnare or entrap; deceitful; sly; treacherous; -- said of persons; as, the insidious foe. [L. insidiosus, fr. insidiae an ambush, fr. insidere to sit in; pref. in- + sedere to sit: cf. F. insidieux. See Sit.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- milliner n.
- Formerly, a man who imported and dealt in small articles of a miscellaneous kind, especially such as please the fancy of women. [From Milaner an inhabitant of Milan, in Italy; hence, a man from Milan who imported women's finery.]
- lied n.
- A lay; a German song. It differs from the French chanson, and the Italian canzone, all three being national. [G.]
- disappearance n.
- The act of disappearing; cessation of appearance; removal from sight; vanishing.
- county n.
- An earldom; the domain of a count or earl. [F. comt, fr. LL. comitatus. See Count.]
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dora Williams 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, Dora Williams, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/dora-williams.html, id L07804.
Form and metre
Dora Williams is 52 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 27 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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-BBC--AC------------C- me · lush · fortuneA · drunk · wretchedB · deadB · chicagoC · villain · magnate · fortuneA · knowC · thereafter · scandal · woman · rich · elysees · people · nobles · english · genoa · think · overlooking · worlds · navigatoC · quiete
- 2 -----------A--BB---AC----C- milliner · about · dora · disappearance · rearing · beauty · ribbons · feathers · felts · faces · gold · youA · ask · husbands · trinketsB · hatsB · yourselves · divorces · them · youA · riverC · the · farm · freedom · wished · riverC · worse
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When Reuben Pantier ran away and threw me | 11 | ·/˘···˘/··· |
| I went to Springfield. There I met a lush, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Whose father just deceased left him a fortune. | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| He married me when drunk. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My life was wretched. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| A year passed and one day they found him dead. | 10 | ·········· |
| That made me rich. I moved on to Chicago. | 11 | ········˘/· |
| After a time met Tyler Rountree, villain. | 11 | ·····/˘˘//˘ |
| I moved on to New York. A gray-haired magnate | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Went mad about me—so another fortune. | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| He died one night right in my arms, you know. | 10 | ·········· |
| (I saw his purple face for years thereafter. ) | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| There was almost a scandal. | 7 | ··/··/˘ |
| I moved on, This time to Paris. I was now a woman, | 14 | ······/˘····/˘ |
| Insidious, subtle, versed in the world and rich. | 12 | ˘/˘˘/˘······ |
| My sweet apartment near the Champs Elysees | 11 | ··˘/˘···/˘· |
| Became a center for all sorts of people, | 11 | ˘/·/˘····/˘ |
| Musicians, poets, dandies, artists, nobles, | 11 | ˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Where we spoke French and German, Italian, English. | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| I wed Count Navigato, native of Genoa. | 13 | ·······/˘·/˘˘ |
| We went to Rome. He poisoned me, I think. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Now in the Campo Santo overlooking | 11 | ···/˘/˘/˘·˘ |
| The sea where young Columbus dreamed new worlds, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| See what they chiseled: “Contessa Navigato | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Implora eterna quiete.” | 7 | ······· |
| I was the milliner | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Talked about, lied about, | 6 | ······ |
| Mother of Dora, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Whose strange disappearance | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Was charged to her rearing. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| My eye quick to beauty | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Saw much beside ribbons | 6 | ··˘//˘ |
| And buckles and feathers | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| And leghorns and felts, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| To set off sweet faces, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And dark hair and gold. | 5 | ····· |
| One thing I will tell you | 6 | ······ |
| And one I will ask: | 5 | ····· |
| The stealers of husbands | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Wear powder and trinkets, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| And fashionable hats. | 6 | ·/˘˘˘· |
| Wives, wear them yourselves. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Hats may make divorces— | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| They also prevent them. | 6 | ·/˘˘/· |
| Well now, let me ask you: | 6 | ······ |
| If all of the children, born here in Spoon River | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| Had been reared by the | 5 | ····· |
| County, somewhere on a farm; | 7 | /˘/···· |
| And the fathers and mothers had been given their freedom | 14 | ··/˘·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| To live and enjoy, change mates if they wished, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| Do you think that Spoon River | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Had been any the worse? | 6 | ··/˘·· |
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.