George Gray
I have studied many timesThe marble which was chiseled for me—A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.In truth it pictures not my destinationBut my life.For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.And now I know that we must lift the sailAnd catch the winds of destinyWherever they drive the boat.To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,But life without meaning is the tortureOf restlessness and vague desire—It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
It never came into my mindUntil I was ready to dieThat Jenny had loved me to death, with malice of heart.For I was seventy, she was thirty—five,And I wore myself to a shadow trying to husbandJenny, rosy Jenny full of the ardor of life.For all my wisdom and grace of mindGave her no delight at all, in very truth,But ever and anon she spoke of the giant strengthOf Willard Shafer, and of his wonderful featOf lifting a traction engine out of the ditchOne time at Georgie Kirby’s.So Jenny inherited my fortune and married Willard—That mount of brawn! That clownish soul!
Words in this poem
- destination n.
- The act of destining or appointing. [L. destinatio determination: cf. F. destination destination.]
- disillusionment n.
- The act of freeing from an illusion, or the state of being freed therefrom.
- hungered a.
- Hungry; pinched for food.
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- jenny n.
- A familiar or pet form of the proper name Jane.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- 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.]
- brawn n.
- A muscle; flesh. [OF. braon fleshy part, muscle, fr. HG. br flesh, G. braten roast meat; akin to Icel. br flesh, food of beasts, AS. brbr to roast, G. braten, and possibly to E. ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
George Gray 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, George Gray, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/george-gray.html, id L07799.
Form and metre
George Gray is 30 lines in 2 stanzas. 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.6 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% 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 ----A-B-A------B times · me · harbor · destination · lifeA · disillusionment · afraidB · chances · lifeA · sail · destiny · boat · madness · torture · desire · afraidB
- 2 A---A-A------- mindA · die · heart · five · husbandA · life · mindA · truth · strength · feat · ditch · kirby's · willard · soul
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I have studied many times | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| The marble which was chiseled for me— | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| In truth it pictures not my destination | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| But my life. | 3 | ··· |
| For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment; | 16 | ···/˘·······˘/˘˘ |
| Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid; | 11 | /˘·······˘/ |
| Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances. | 13 | ˘/˘·····/˘·/˘ |
| Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| And now I know that we must lift the sail | 10 | ·········· |
| And catch the winds of destiny | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Wherever they drive the boat. | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness, | 12 | ··/˘······/˘ |
| But life without meaning is the torture | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| Of restlessness and vague desire— | 9 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘ |
| It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid. | 13 | ····/˘·····˘/ |
| It never came into my mind | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Until I was ready to die | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| That Jenny had loved me to death, with malice of heart. | 13 | ·/˘······/˘·· |
| For I was seventy, she was thirty—five, | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘· |
| And I wore myself to a shadow trying to husband | 14 | ····/··/·/˘·/˘ |
| Jenny, rosy Jenny full of the ardor of life. | 13 | /˘/˘/˘···/˘·· |
| For all my wisdom and grace of mind | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Gave her no delight at all, in very truth, | 11 | ···˘/···/˘· |
| But ever and anon she spoke of the giant strength | 13 | ·/˘·˘/····/˘· |
| Of Willard Shafer, and of his wonderful feat | 12 | ·/˘/˘···/˘˘· |
| Of lifting a traction engine out of the ditch | 12 | ·/˘·/˘/˘···· |
| One time at Georgie Kirby’s. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| So Jenny inherited my fortune and married Willard— | 15 | ·/˘˘/˘˘·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| That mount of brawn! That clownish soul! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.