E. C. Culbertson
Is it true, Spoon River,That in the hall—way of the New Court HouseThere is a tablet of bronzeContaining the embossed facesOf Editor Whedon and Thomas Rhodes?And is it true that my successful laborsIn the County Board, without whichNot one stone would have been placed on another,And the contributions out of my own pocketTo build the temple, are but memories among the people,Gradually fading away, and soon to descendWith them to this oblivion where I lie?In truth, I can so believe.For it is a law of the Kingdom of HeavenThat whoso enters the vineyard at the eleventh hourShall receive a full day’s pay.And it is a law of the Kingdom of this WorldThat those who first oppose a good workSeize it and make it their own,When the corner—stone is laid,And memorial tablets are erected.
Words in this poem
- county n.
- An earldom; the domain of a count or earl. [F. comt, fr. LL. comitatus. See Count.]
- fading n.
- An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
- oblivion n.
- The act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten; cessation of remembrance; forgetfulness. [L. oblivio, akin to oblivisci to forget: cf. OF. oblivion.]
- whoso pron.
- Whosoever. Piers Plowman.
- vineyard n.
- An inclosure or yard for grapevines; a plantation of vines producing grapes. [For OE. winyard, AS. wingeard; influenced by E. vine. See Wine, and Yard an inclosure.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
E. C. Culbertson 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, E. C. Culbertson, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/e-c-culbertson.html, id L07894.
Form and metre
E. C. Culbertson is 21 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 52% 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 river · house · bronze · faces · rhodes · labors · which · another · pocket · people · descend · lie · believe · heaven · hour · pay · world · work · own · laidA · erectedA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Is it true, Spoon River, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| That in the hall—way of the New Court House | 10 | ·········· |
| There is a tablet of bronze | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Containing the embossed faces | 8 | ˘/˘·˘//˘ |
| Of Editor Whedon and Thomas Rhodes? | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘· |
| And is it true that my successful labors | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| In the County Board, without which | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Not one stone would have been placed on another, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| And the contributions out of my own pocket | 12 | ···˘/˘····/˘ |
| To build the temple, are but memories among the people, | 15 | ···/˘··/˘˘···/˘ |
| Gradually fading away, and soon to descend | 13 | /˘˘˘/˘˘/···˘/ |
| With them to this oblivion where I lie? | 11 | ····˘/˘˘··· |
| In truth, I can so believe. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| For it is a law of the Kingdom of Heaven | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| That whoso enters the vineyard at the eleventh hour | 15 | ·/˘/˘·/˘··˘/˘/˘ |
| Shall receive a full day’s pay. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And it is a law of the Kingdom of this World | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| That those who first oppose a good work | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| Seize it and make it their own, | 7 | ······· |
| When the corner—stone is laid, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And memorial tablets are erected. | 11 | ·˘/˘˘/˘·˘/˘ |
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.