Washington McNeely
Rich, honored by my fellow citizens,The father of many children, born of a noble mother,All raised thereIn the great mansion—house, at the edge of town.Note the cedar tree on the lawn!I sent all the boys to Ann Arbor, all of the girls to Rockford,The while my life went on, getting more riches and honors—Resting under my cedar tree at evening.The years went on.I sent the girls to Europe;I dowered them when married.I gave the boys money to start in business.They were strong children, promising as applesBefore the bitten places show.But John fled the country in disgrace.Jenny died in child-birth—I sat under my cedar tree.Harry killed himself after a debauch,Susan was divorced—I sat under my cedar tree.Paul was invalided from over study,Mary became a recluse at home for love of a man—I sat under my cedar tree.All were gone, or broken-winged or devoured by life—I sat under my cedar tree.My mate, the mother of them, was taken—I sat under my cedar tree,Till ninety years were tolled.O maternal Earth, which rocks the fallen leaf to sleep.
Words in this poem
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
- arbor n.
- A kind of latticework formed of, or covered with, vines, branches of trees, or other plants, for shade; a bower. Sir P. [OE. herber, herbere, properly a garden of herbs, F. herbier, fr. L. herbarium. See Herb, and cf. Herbarium.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- dowered p. a.
- Furnished with, or as with, dower or a marriage portion.
- promising a.
- Making a promise or promises; affording hope or assurance; as, promising person; a promising day.
- jenny n.
- A familiar or pet form of the proper name Jane.
- harry v. i.
- To make a predatory incursion; to plunder or lay waste.
- maternal a.
- Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Washington McNeely 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, Washington McNeely, in Spoon River Anthology (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1280, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masters-spoon-river/washington-mcneely.html, id L07828.
Form and metre
Washington McNeely is 29 lines in a single stanza. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 85% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.4 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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---A--B--B-C--C-DC-CDC-- citizens · mother · there · town · lawnA · rockford · honors · evening · onA · europe · married · businessB · apples · show · disgraceB · birth · treeC · debauch · divorced · treeC · study · manD · treeC · life · treeC · takenD · treeC · tolled · sleep
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Rich, honored by my fellow citizens, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| The father of many children, born of a noble mother, | 15 | ·/˘·/˘/˘···/˘/˘ |
| All raised there | 3 | ··· |
| In the great mansion—house, at the edge of town. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Note the cedar tree on the lawn! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| I sent all the boys to Ann Arbor, all of the girls to Rockford, | 16 | ·······/˘·····/˘ |
| The while my life went on, getting more riches and honors— | 14 | ······/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Resting under my cedar tree at evening. | 11 | /˘···/˘··/˘ |
| The years went on. | 4 | ···· |
| I sent the girls to Europe; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I dowered them when married. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I gave the boys money to start in business. | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| They were strong children, promising as apples | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Before the bitten places show. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But John fled the country in disgrace. | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Jenny died in child-birth— | 6 | /˘···· |
| I sat under my cedar tree. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Harry killed himself after a debauch, | 10 | /˘·˘/···˘/ |
| Susan was divorced— | 5 | /˘·˘/ |
| I sat under my cedar tree. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Paul was invalided from over study, | 11 | ··/˘˘˘···/˘ |
| Mary became a recluse at home for love of a man— | 14 | /˘˘/·˘/······· |
| I sat under my cedar tree. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| All were gone, or broken-winged or devoured by life— | 13 | ····/˘··˘/˘·· |
| I sat under my cedar tree. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My mate, the mother of them, was taken— | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| I sat under my cedar tree, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Till ninety years were tolled. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| O maternal Earth, which rocks the fallen leaf to sleep. | 13 | ·˘/˘····/˘··· |
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.