1-2): What is the speaker’s ghost looking at? I followed in his footsteps about 150 years later. Make plans, Dream dreams and live each day like you were dying. The speaker of the poem is George Gray. Your email address will not be published. I will continue to share this poem with my friends and family as I have for many years now. Don’t be afraid to love even if it ends in pain, don’t be afraid to take chances, even if there’s potential to fail. Read more about Edgar Lee Masters. I continue to pull courage from it. A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. An elegy is a poem written to mourn a person’s death. I followed in his footsteps about 150 years later. In this poem George Gray (who is dead) looks at the design on his gravestone. Everybody’s life is a journey, but George Gray’s life was a journey not taken. He played it safe and didn’t risk his heart or his talents to reach out to life, to follow where taking these risks would lead him. American Poems - Analysis, Themes, Meaning and Literary Devices. The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, Alongside Alexander Pope, Thomas Read Edgar Lee Masters poem:I have studied many times The marble which was chiseled for me -- A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.. Edgar Lee Masters wrote about real people that were recognizable…and he sure must have known George pretty well! George Gray Poem by Edgar Lee Masters. To put meaning in one's life may end in madness. George was born and died between 1865? Egli ebbe un'infanzia difficile che fu segnata I love this poem very much, it was love at first sight when I first read it. 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. Poems. I hope others share the deep connection with it that I have. Your email address will not be published. The fear of leading a Meaningless life scares me! There are no other Grays from the Spoon river area that are living excecpt for my mom and me. Of course, I AM a Gray and got curious.. and found out..HOLY COW! Missed because of the fear of experiencing what life can offer. George Gray I have studied many times The marble which was chiseled for me— A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid… George was afraid that his life would collapse as a single father with no one to help him. It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid. He passed up love because he was afraid of being hurt, ambition because he dreaded all the changes that … He knew about the revolutionary war from his father but did not have to fight in the civil war. I think its a man reflecting on his life and comparing it to the ship moored in the harbour. And catch the winds of destiny answer choices . Please help me!!!!!!!!! Il poeta statunitense Edgar Lee Masters nacque in Kansas il 23 agosto 1869. It had been a source of deep meaning and inspiration not to let my life just pass me by because of fear. (4-5): What does the speaker compare the boat to? I have to analyze this poem for english class…does anyone know what it means…has anyone found an analysis anywhere? And I chiseled for them whatever they wished, All in ignorance of its truth. The Poem was written from the perspective of a man who has died and is looking back on his life with a fearfull realization that durring his life he thought he was going somewhere, only to realize that in the end he never accomplished anything, never took the risks necesary to create a meaningfull life. All his children moved to the Monmouth/Kirkwood, Illinois area and lived out their lives there ..not too far at all from Spoon River and The Hill where George is buried. I think my opinion will come too late. The speakers, who are all now dead, will never understand that their views of themselves differ greatly from the opinions held by their fellow villagers. Now that he’s dead, Gray admits his life may have been quiet and safe, but unfortunately not satisfactory (he says “all the while I HUNGERED – longed- for meaning in my life”) because he refused to live fully , to accept the aspects of human experience that GIVE LIFE A MEANING, make it worth living, and make human beings more complete, fulfilled and richer. Spoon River Anthology encourages and almost demands the rereadings of epitaphs, because almost all these poems make references to characters and events mentioned in other poems. George … He is a ghost at his grave, talking about the mistakes he made in his life to help the living not make the same mistakes he made. Edgar Lee Masters was definitely a person not afraid to express what he was thinking or experienced though life. He is originally from Galesburg and did a variety of things for labor..one of which was working the Mighty Mississippi as a River Boat Capt. Last time I was in a hurry but I would like to add a few more remarks about this poem. His message to me is: Take a risk, live life to the fullest and go where it leads you. Of restlessness and vague desire — The 246 poems which make up the collection were published together in 1915 and the work has since become one of the most popular collections of poetry ever published in America. © 2021 American Poems - Analysis, Themes, Meaning and Literary Devices. They would bring me an epitaph And stand around the shop while I worked And say "He was so kind," "He was wonderful," "She was the sweetest woman," "He was a consistent Christian." But my life. search. Required fields are marked *, Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Edgar Lee Masters better? and which deals more or less with the same topic (life/death): “I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to put to rout all that was not life and not when i had come to die discover that I had not lived”. The poem is philosophical and emotional at the same time. Wherever they drive the boat. (Clay – is the best medium for the molding of a great life.) In the end he realized his error. For love was offered me and I shra What image would you have carved on your tombstone? The poem was given to me about 36 years ago by a dear friend in the US.It contains the fears of every thinking person.Whether one is rich,poor,healthy or not this poem reflects the very essence of life.Yet,on the other hand,we must have order in our society,so how far does one push the concept of “doing what one wants”? Spoon River Anthology. However, he published it only in the year 1751. George was a quiet but strong man..always pondering something.. “George Gray” has its audience explore opportunities that have come by and passed,missed opportunities. Masters helps his readers explore the regret George Gray had not living life to the fullest. For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;