Spoon River Poem Theme

“Life isn't a Fiddle”

“Discussion on the theme - Expecting the Unforeseen”

In Spoon River Anthology, written by Edgar Lee Masters, many different themes are explored. Among those, are the ideas of the world not being as it appears, people often sleep with their enemy and life not always being easy. However, one very important idea is stated in the theme of “expect the unforeseen”. This particular theme is made especially clear, illustrated by the poems, “Fiddler Jones”, “Blind Jack” and “Franklin Jones”. Each poem gives the reader different perspectives on a number of things, though each ends with the very prophetic, if not blunt, theme of always expect the unforeseen. The theme “expect the unforeseen” is first shown to the reader in Fiddler Jones. The poem starts with Jones pondering about the world. Telling of things such as the earth's vibration, the winds in the corn and the ruinous drouth. Jones tries to till his forty acres but keeps getting side -tracked with offers and adventures. In the end, Fiddler ends up with, in his own words, “ I ended up with forty acres; I ended up with a broken fiddle - And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories, and not a single regret.” Fiddler is one of the rare exceptions where the theme does

Franklin was working on what he called a, “flying machine”. Franklin never did finish the machine, never became rich and famous. Franklin had his life taken away and with it, his perceived goals, his perceived destiny. All of it because the unexpected knocked on his door before he was ready to expect or accept it. It's quite unfortunate, as it led Jones to an eternity of self-loathing and hate for those who are living and experiencing their dreams, while he could not. His feelings are summarized best in the last couple of lines of the epitaph, “Save that a man has an angel’s brain, And sees the ax from the