Edgar Lee Masters: The Realities of Life

Edward Lee Masters depiction of small-town life and the incidents thereof are spoken for clearly with his two poems, “Elsa Wertman” and “Hamilton Greene”.  Things that are not usually discussed are brought to the light. Masters does so by subtlety expressing a woman’s feelings about her child, and how he came about in “Elsa Wertman”. Elsa seems to be dealing with mixed feelings common of peculiar situations that occurred frequently. She feels sorrow in seeing her son who does not know her but in a sense joy that her mistress gave him a good life. In the end she expresses her wants to say, “That’s my son! That’s my son!,” like any proud parent but holds back because of society (161). In an ironic connection her child in “Hamilton Greene,” knows nothing of his mother’s sacrifice or how we came into the world and is immensely proud of his parents and life. Masters shares a truth that is hidden in life; how things are never as pretty as they seem and how full they are of misconceptions and misunderstandings.