Henry Tripp
The bank broke and I lost my savings.I was sick of the tiresome game in Spoon RiverAnd I made up my mind to run awayAnd leave my place in life and my family;But just as the midnight train pulled in,Quick off the steps jumped Cully GreenAnd Martin Vise, and began to fightTo settle their ancient rivalry,Striking each other with fists that soundedLike the blows of knotted clubs.Now it seemed to me that Cully was winning,When his bloody face broke into a grinOf sickly cowardice, leaning on MartinAnd whining out “We’re good friends, Mart,You know that I’m your friend.”But a terrible punch from Martin knocked himAround and around and into a heap.And then they arrested me as a witness,And I lost my train and staid in Spoon RiverTo wage my battle of life to the end.Oh, Cully Green, you were my savior—You, so ashamed and drooped for years,Loitering listless about the streets,And tying rags round your festering soul,Who failed to fight it out.
Words in this poem
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- cully n.
- A person easily deceived, tricked, or imposed on; a mean dupe; a gull. [Abbrev. fr. cullion.]
- vise n.
- An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing. [F. vis a screw, winding stairs, OF. vis, viz, fr. L. vitis a vine; probably akin to E. withy.]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- mart v. t.
- To buy or sell in, or as in, a mart.
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- listless a.
- Having no desire or inclination; indifferent; heedless; spiritless. [OE. listles, lustles. See Lust.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Henry Tripp 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, Henry Tripp, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/henry-tripp.html, id L07897.
Form and metre
Henry Tripp is 25 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.4 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 -A--BB-----BB-C---AC----- savings · riverA · away · family · inB · greenB · fight · rivalry · sounded · clubs · winning · grinB · martinB · mart · friendC · him · heap · witness · riverA · endC · savior · years · streets · soul · out
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The bank broke and I lost my savings. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I was sick of the tiresome game in Spoon River | 13 | ·····/˘˘···/˘ |
| And I made up my mind to run away | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And leave my place in life and my family; | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| But just as the midnight train pulled in, | 9 | ····/···· |
| Quick off the steps jumped Cully Green | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Martin Vise, and began to fight | 9 | ·/˘··˘/·· |
| To settle their ancient rivalry, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| Striking each other with fists that sounded | 10 | /˘·/˘···/˘ |
| Like the blows of knotted clubs. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Now it seemed to me that Cully was winning, | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| When his bloody face broke into a grin | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Of sickly cowardice, leaning on Martin | 11 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| And whining out “We’re good friends, Mart, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| You know that I’m your friend.” | 6 | ······ |
| But a terrible punch from Martin knocked him | 11 | ··/˘˘··/˘·· |
| Around and around and into a heap. | 10 | ·········· |
| And then they arrested me as a witness, | 11 | ···˘/˘···/˘ |
| And I lost my train and staid in Spoon River | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| To wage my battle of life to the end. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Oh, Cully Green, you were my savior— | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| You, so ashamed and drooped for years, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Loitering listless about the streets, | 9 | /˘˘/˘···· |
| And tying rags round your festering soul, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘· |
| Who failed to fight it out. | 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.