Edgar Lee Masters’ “Lois Spears” from Spoon River Anthology surprises readers with its simple purity. The many complaints from those who pursued lives on the seamy side and then tried to blame others for their misfortunes resonant with such volume that encountering a soul such as Lois provides a shock albeit a pleasant one.
This poem features only three movements. The first movement’s opening sounds as if a third party is reporting for Lois, but then it becomes clear that it is Lois speaking in the last parenthetical line. It is also important to note that the information in the parenthetical is deemphasized, though for the world it is of great moment.
The second movement finds Lois proclaiming herself “the happiest of women,” while the third and final movement reveals the reason for her height of happiness.
First Movement: “Here lies the body of Lois Spears”
Lois begins her report with a rather official sounding declaration, “Here lies the body of Lois Spears.” She continues by identifying herself further with her maiden name, “Lois Fluke,” and that she was the “daughter of Willard Fluke.” The significance of her maiden name becomes apparent as the reader encounters the strange, delightful character she exhibits. She is, indeed, a fluke of nature, especially when found among the many disingenuous characters of Spoon River.
Lois further defines her identity by stating that she was the wife of “Cyrus Spears, / Mother of Myrtle and Virgil Spears.” Her children, she is, no doubt, happy to report both had “clear eyes”—they were not born with same affliction their mother endured. Her children furthermore were otherwise healthy with “sound limbs.”
It is only after she has revealed the rudimentary biographical facts that she imparts the crucial information that she “was born blind.”
Second Movement: “I was the happiest of women”
Lest her hearers begin to pity her, Lois immediately dispels the notion that she requires any by declaring herself “the happiest of women.” She was so happy because she cared for her “loved ones” and made her home “a place of order and bounteous hospitality.”
The magnanimity of such a remark offers solace to all who have struggled with positions that they deem beneath them—the lowly housewife, who was also blind, was able to function as the happiest of women simply by nurturing and making a home for her loved ones.
Third Movement: “For I went about the rooms”
In the final movement, Lois proclaims that all glory belongs to “God in the highest.” She was able to go about the rooms of her home and even grow a garden and claims she did so “with instinct as sure as sight.” She worked and achieved high accomplishments “[a]s though there were eyes in my finger tips.”
That she praises the Divine for her happy fluke of a life lifts her capital to further heights. Lois Spears takes her rank as one of the fine, pure souls who inhabited the otherwise carping village of Spoon River.
Sources:
- Edgar Lee Masters, "Lois Spears," Spoon River Anthology, bartleby.com.
Linda Sue Grimes - As a writer, researcher, and SRF devotee, Linda Sue Grimes has studied poetry and practiced Kriya Yoga for over thirty years..
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