George Trimble
Do you remember when I stood on the stepsOf the Court House and talked free-silver,And the single-tax of Henry George?Then do you remember that, when the Peerless LeaderLost the first battle, I began to talk prohibition,And became active in the church?That was due to my wife,Who pictured to me my destructionIf I did not prove my morality to the people.Well, she ruined me:For the radicals grew suspicious of me,And the conservatives were never sure of me—And here I lie, unwept of all.
I said when they handed me my diploma,I said to myself I will be goodAnd wise and brave and helpful to others;I said I will carry the Christian creedInto the practice of medicine!Somehow the world and the other doctorsKnow what’s in your heart as soon as you makeThis high-souled resolution.And the way of it is they starve you out.And no one comes to you but the poor.And you find too late that being a doctorIs just a way of making a living.And when you are poor and have to carryThe Christian creed and wife and childrenAll on your back, it is too much!That’s why I made the Elixir of Youth,Which landed me in the jail at PeoriaBranded a swindler and a crookBy the upright Federal Judge!
I never saw any differenceBetween playing cards for moneyAnd selling real estate,Practicing law, banking, or anything else.For everything is chance.NeverthelessSeest thou a man diligent in business?He shall stand before Kings!
Words in this poem
- pictured a.
- Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
- diploma n.
- A letter or writing, usually under seal, conferring some privilege, honor, or power; a document bearing record of a degree conferred by a literary society or educational institution. [L., fr. Gr. Double.]
- 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.
- elixir n.
- A tincture with more than one base; a compound tincture or medicine, composed of various substances, held in solution by alcohol in some form. [F. élixir, Sp. elixir, Ar. eliksir the philosopher's stone, prob. from Gr. ksha to burn.]
- swindler n.
- One who swindles, or defrauds grossly; one who makes a practice of defrauding others by imposition or deliberate artifice; a cheat. [G. schwindler, fr. schwindlen to be dizzy, to act thoughtlessly, to cheat, fr. schwindel dizziness, fr. schwinden to vanish, to disappear, to dwindle. See Swim ]
- banking n.
- The business of a bank or of a banker. Banking house, an establishment or office in which, or a firm by whom, banking is done.
- 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
George Trimble 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 Trimble, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/george-trimble.html, id L07785.
Form and metre
George Trimble is 40 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 81% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 18 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 --------ABBBA steps · silver · george · leader · prohibition · church · wife · destruction · peopleA · meB · meB · meB · allA
- 3 A---ABB- differenceA · money · estate · else · chanceA · neverthelessB · businessB · kings
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Do you remember when I stood on the steps | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| Of the Court House and talked free-silver, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And the single-tax of Henry George? | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| Then do you remember that, when the Peerless Leader | 13 | ···˘/˘···/˘/˘ |
| Lost the first battle, I began to talk prohibition, | 14 | ···/˘·˘/···˘/˘ |
| And became active in the church? | 8 | ·˘//˘··· |
| That was due to my wife, | 6 | ······ |
| Who pictured to me my destruction | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| If I did not prove my morality to the people. | 14 | ······˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Well, she ruined me: | 5 | ··/˘· |
| For the radicals grew suspicious of me, | 11 | ··/˘˘·˘/˘·· |
| And the conservatives were never sure of me— | 12 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| And here I lie, unwept of all. | 8 | ········ |
| I said when they handed me my diploma, | 11 | ····/˘··˘/˘ |
| I said to myself I will be good | 9 | ····/···· |
| And wise and brave and helpful to others; | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| I said I will carry the Christian creed | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Into the practice of medicine! | 9 | ···/˘·/˘˘ |
| Somehow the world and the other doctors | 10 | /·····/˘/˘ |
| Know what’s in your heart as soon as you make | 10 | ·········· |
| This high-souled resolution. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And the way of it is they starve you out. | 10 | ·········· |
| And no one comes to you but the poor. | 9 | ········· |
| And you find too late that being a doctor | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| Is just a way of making a living. | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| And when you are poor and have to carry | 10 | ········/˘ |
| The Christian creed and wife and children | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| All on your back, it is too much! | 8 | ········ |
| That’s why I made the Elixir of Youth, | 10 | ·····˘/˘·· |
| Which landed me in the jail at Peoria | 12 | ·/˘·····˘/˘˘ |
| Branded a swindler and a crook | 9 | /˘·/˘˘··· |
| By the upright Federal Judge! | 8 | ··˘//˘˘· |
| I never saw any difference | 9 | ·/˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| Between playing cards for money | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And selling real estate, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Practicing law, banking, or anything else. | 11 | /˘˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| For everything is chance. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Nevertheless | 4 | ·˘˘/ |
| Seest thou a man diligent in business? | 10 | ····/˘˘·/˘ |
| He shall stand before Kings! | 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.