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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MRS. PURKAPILE, by EDGAR LEE MASTERS Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: He ran away and was gone for a year Last Line: Of his marital vow and duty. Subject(s): Unfaithfulness; Infidelity; Adultery; Inconstancy | |||
HE ran away and was gone for a year. When he came home he told me the silly story Of being kidnapped by pirates on Lake Michigan And kept in chains so he could not write me. I pretended to believe it, though I knew very well What he was doing, and that he met The milliner, Mrs. Williams, now and then When she went to the city to buy goods, as she said. But a promise is a promise And marriage is marriage, And out of respect for my own character I refused to be drawn into a divorce By the scheme of a husband who had merely grown tired Of his marital vow and duty. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A RITUAL AS OLD AS TIME ITSELF by PETER JOHNSON THE RING AND THE CASTLE by AMY LOWELL SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MRS. MERRITT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: TOM MERRITT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS IF THERE'S A GOD... by GREGORY ORR SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: ALEXANDER THROCKMORTON by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |
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