Finding Of The Body Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABBCBDEFEGHIJ KLMNOPJAQRSTUVAWBT XYXYBHZA2JB2C2YVYYY D2E2F2BG2BYBHXBBH2H2 XBTH2 I2BYJ2SH2JSK2JYAYBJH 2H2YJYA H2YL2BM2JJXXC2N2H2BN 2AJBC2BO2C2Elenor Murray daughter of Henry Murray | A |
The druggist at LeRoy a village near | B |
The shadow of Starved Rock this Elenor | B |
But recently returned from France a heart | C |
Who gave her service in the world at war | B |
Was found along the river's shore a mile | D |
Above Starved Rock on August th the day | E |
Year LaSalle set sail | F |
For Michilmackinac to reach Green Bay | E |
In the Griffin in the winter snow and sleet | G |
Reaching Lone Cliff Starved Rock its later name | H |
Also La Vantum village of the tribe | I |
Called Illini | J |
- | |
This may be taken to speak | K |
The symbol of her life and fate For first | L |
This Elenor Murray comes into this life | M |
And lives her youth where the Rock's shadow falls | N |
As if to say her life should starve and lie | O |
Beneath a shadow wandering in the world | P |
As Cavalier LaSalle did born at Rouen | J |
Shot down on Trinity River Texas She | A |
Searches for life and conquest of herself | Q |
With the same sleepless spirit of LaSalle | R |
And comes back to the shadow of the Rock | S |
And dies beneath its shadow Cause of death | T |
Was she like Sieur LaSalle shot down or choked | U |
Struck poisoned Let the coroner decide | V |
Who hearing of the matter takes the body | A |
And brings it to LeRoy is taking proofs | W |
Lets doctors cut the body probe and peer | B |
To find the cause of death | T |
- | |
And so this morning | X |
Of August th as a hunter walks | Y |
Looking for rabbits maybe aimless hunting | X |
Over the meadow where the Illini's | Y |
La Vantum stood two hundred years before | B |
Gun over arm in readiness for game | H |
Sees some two hundred paces to the south | Z |
Bright colors red and blue thinks off the bat | A2 |
A human body lies there hurries on | J |
And finds the girl's dead body hatless head | B2 |
The hat some paces off as if she fell | C2 |
In such way that the hat dashed off Her arms | Y |
Lying outstretched the body half on side | V |
The face upturned to heaven open eyes | Y |
That might have seen Starved Rock until the eyes | Y |
Sank down in darkness where no image comes | Y |
- | |
This hunter knew the body bent and looked | D2 |
Gave forth a gasp of horror leaned and touched | E2 |
The cold hand of the dead saw in her pocket | F2 |
Sticking above the pocket's edge a banner | B |
And took it forth saw it was Joan of Arc | G2 |
In helmet and cuirass kneeling in prayer | B |
And in the banner a paper with these words | Y |
To be brave and not to flinch And standing there | B |
This hunter knew that Elenor Murray came | H |
Some days before from France was visiting | X |
An aunt named Irma Leese beyond LeRoy | B |
What was she doing by the river's shore | B |
He saw no mark upon her and no blood | H2 |
No pistol by her nothing disarranged | H2 |
Of hair or clothing showing struggle nothing | X |
To indicate the death she met Who saw her | B |
Before or when she died How long had death | T |
Been on her eyes Some hours or over night | H2 |
- | |
The hunter touched her hand already stiff | I2 |
And saw the dew upon her hair and brow | B |
And a blue deadness in her eyes like pebbles | Y |
The lips were black and bottle flies had come | J2 |
To feed upon her tongue 'Tis ten o'clock | S |
The coolness of the August night unchanged | H2 |
By this spent sun of August And the moon | J |
Lies dead and wasted there beyond Starved Rock | S |
The moon was beautiful last night To walk | K2 |
Beside the river under the August moon | J |
Took Elenor Murray's fancy as he thinks | Y |
Then thinking of the aunt of Elenor Murray | A |
Who should be notified the hunter runs | Y |
To tell the aunt but there's the coroner | B |
Is there not law the coroner should know | J |
Should not the body lie as it was found | H2 |
Until the coroner takes charge of it | H2 |
Should not he stand on guard And so he runs | Y |
And from a farmer's house by telephone | J |
Sends word to Coroner Merival Then returns | Y |
And guards the body | A |
- | |
Here is riffle first | H2 |
The coroner sat with his traveling bags | Y |
Was closing up his desk had planned a trip | L2 |
With boon companions they were with him there | B |
The auto waited at the door to take them | M2 |
To catch the train for northern Michigan | J |
He closed the desk and they arose to go | J |
Just then the telephone began to ring | X |
The hunter at the other end was talking | X |
And told of Elenor Murray Merival | C2 |
Turned to his friends and said The jig is up | N2 |
Here is an inquest and of moment too | H2 |
I cannot go but you jump in the car | B |
And go you'll catch the train if you speed up | N2 |
They begged him to permit his deputy | A |
To hold the inquest Merival said no | J |
And waived them off They left He got a car | B |
And hurried to the place where Eleanor lay | C2 |
Now who was Merival the Coroner | B |
For we shall know of Elenor through him | O2 |
And know her better knowing Merival | C2 |
Edgar Lee Masters
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Write your comment about Finding Of The Body poem by Edgar Lee Masters
Best Poems of Edgar Lee Masters