'At The Executed Murderer's Grave' by James Wright

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Why should we do this? What good is it to us? Above all,
how can we do such a thing? How can it possibly be done?

--Freud

1.
My name is James A. Wright, and I was born
Twenty-five miles from this infected grave,
In Martins Ferry, Ohio, where one slave
To Hazel-Atlas Glass became my father.
He tried to teach me kindness. I return
Only in memory now, aloof, unhurried,
To dead Ohio, where I might lie buried,
Had I not run away before my time.
Ohio caught George Doty. Clean as lime,
His skull rots empty here. Dying's the best
Of all the arts men learn in a dead place.
I walked here once. I made my loud display,
Leaning for language on a dead man's voice.
Now sick of lies, I turn to face the past.
I add my easy grievance to the rest:

2.
Doty, if I confess I do not love you,
Will you let me alone? I burn for my own lies.
The nights electrocute my fugitive,
My mind. I run like the bewildered mad
At St. Clair Sanitarium, who lurk,
Arch and cunning, under the maple trees,
Pleased to be playing guilty after dark.
Staring to bed, they croon self-lullabies.
Doty, you make me sick. I am not dead.
I croon my tears at fifty cents per line.

3.
Idiot, he demanded love from girls,
And murdered one. Also, he was a thief.
He left two women, and a ghost with child.
The hair, foul as a dog's upon his head,
Made such revolting Ohio animals
Fitter for vomit than a kind man's grief.
I waste no pity on the dead that stink,
And no love's lost between me and the crying
Drunks of Belaire, Ohio, where police
Kick at their kidneys till they die of drink.
Christ may restore them whole, for all of me.
Alive and dead, those giggling muckers who
Saddled my nighmares thirty years ago
Can do without my widely printed sighing.
Over their pains with paid sincerity.
I do not pity the dead, I pity the dying.

4.
I pity myself, because a man is dead.
If Belmont County killed him, what of me?
His victims never loved him. Why should we?
And yet, nobody had to kill him either.
It does no good to woo the grass, to veil
The quicklime hole of a man's defeat and shame.
Nature-lovers are gone. To hell with them.
I kick the clods away, and speak my name.

5.
This grave's gash festers. Maybe it will heal,
When all are caught with what they had to do
In fear of love, when every man stands still
By the last sea,
And the princes of the sea come down
To lay away their robes, to judge the earth
And its dead, and we dead stand undefended everywhere,
And my bodies--father and child and unskilled criminal--
Ridiculously kneel to bare my scars,
My sneaking crimes, to God's unpitying stars.

6.
Staring politely, they will not mark my face
From any murderer's, buried in this place.
Why should they? We are nothing but a man.

7.
Doty, the rapist and the murderer,
Sleeps in a ditch of fire, and cannot hear;
And where, in earth or hell's unholy peace,
Men's suicides will stop, God knows, not I.
Angels and pebbles mock me under trees.
Earth is a door I cannot even face.
Order be damned, I do not want to die,
Even to keep Belaire, Ohio, safe.
The hackles on my neck are fear, not grief.
(Open, dungeon! Open, roof of the ground!)
I hear the last sea in the Ohio grass,
Heaving a tide of gray disastrousness.
Wrinkles of winter ditch the rotted face
Of Doty, killer, imbecile, and thief:
Dirt of my flesh, defeated, underground.

Editor 1 Interpretation

At The Executed Murderer's Grave: A Literary Criticism and Interpretation

By James Wright

At The Executed Murderer's Grave is a powerful poem written by James Wright. It is a meditation on life, death, guilt, and redemption. The poem is about a murderer who was executed and buried in an unmarked grave. The speaker of the poem visits the grave and reflects on the life and death of the murderer. The poem is filled with vivid imagery and powerful emotions. In this literary criticism and interpretation, we will explore the themes, symbols, and language used in the poem.

Themes

The central theme of the poem is the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. The poem is a reflection on the life and death of the murderer. The speaker of the poem is aware of his own mortality and reflects on the fact that he will also die one day. The poem also deals with the theme of guilt and redemption. The murderer is guilty of a terrible crime, but the speaker of the poem acknowledges that he has been punished for his crime and is now at peace.

Symbols

The unmarked grave is a powerful symbol in the poem. It represents the anonymity of the murderer and the fact that he was forgotten by society. The speaker of the poem visits the grave to pay his respects and to acknowledge the life and death of the murderer. The grave also represents the finality of death and the fact that everyone will eventually be forgotten.

The birds in the poem are also powerful symbols. They represent the freedom and beauty of nature. The birds are contrasted with the darkness and death of the grave. The birds also represent the hope of redemption and the possibility of a new life.

Language

The language used in the poem is simple and straightforward. The poem is written in free verse, which gives the poet the freedom to use language in a more natural way. The language is also powerful and evocative. The poem is filled with vivid imagery that creates a strong emotional response in the reader.

The use of repetition in the poem is also effective. The repeated phrase "I am sorry" is a powerful expression of the speaker's guilt and regret. The repetition of the word "nothing" in the final stanza emphasizes the finality of death and the fact that everything is ultimately meaningless.

Interpretation

At The Executed Murderer's Grave is a deeply moving poem that explores the themes of life, death, guilt, and redemption. The poem is a meditation on the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. The unmarked grave is a powerful symbol that represents the anonymity of the murderer and the fact that he was forgotten by society. The birds in the poem represent the hope of redemption and the possibility of a new life.

The language used in the poem is simple and powerful. The use of repetition is effective in creating a strong emotional response in the reader. The poem is a reflection on the human condition and our own mortality. The speaker of the poem acknowledges his own guilt and regret and reflects on the fact that we are all ultimately nothing.

Overall, At The Executed Murderer's Grave is a powerful and poignant poem that explores the themes of life, death, guilt, and redemption. It is a meditation on the human condition and our own mortality. The poem is a reminder that we are all fragile and that death is inevitable, but that there is always the possibility of redemption and a new life.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

At The Executed Murderer's Grave: A Poem of Redemption and Forgiveness

James Wright's poem, At The Executed Murderer's Grave, is a haunting and powerful meditation on the nature of guilt, redemption, and forgiveness. Written in 1963, the poem tells the story of a man who visits the grave of a murderer who has been executed, and reflects on the complex emotions that arise from this encounter.

The poem begins with the speaker describing the setting of the graveyard, with its "black trees" and "cold wind." The atmosphere is bleak and foreboding, setting the tone for the somber reflections to come. The speaker then introduces the central figure of the poem, the executed murderer, who lies buried in an unmarked grave. The fact that the grave is unmarked is significant, as it suggests that the murderer was not only executed, but also condemned to be forgotten and erased from memory.

The speaker then describes his own feelings as he stands before the grave. He is filled with a sense of "horror" and "pity" for the murderer, who he imagines as a "lonely man" who was driven to commit his crime by "some terrible need." The speaker's empathy for the murderer is striking, as it suggests that he sees beyond the act of violence to the human being who committed it. This empathy is further emphasized in the next stanza, where the speaker imagines the murderer's final moments on the gallows. He describes the man's "wild eyes" and "twisted mouth," but also notes that he "cried out once" before he died. This cry is significant, as it suggests that even in his final moments, the murderer was capable of expressing some kind of emotion or regret.

The poem then takes a surprising turn, as the speaker begins to address the murderer directly. He tells him that he has come to his grave not to judge him, but to "ask forgiveness." This is a remarkable statement, as it suggests that the speaker is willing to forgive the murderer for his crime, even though he does not know him personally. The speaker then goes on to describe his own struggles with guilt and shame, suggesting that he sees a connection between his own experiences and those of the murderer. He tells the murderer that he too has "done wrong," and that he too has "cried out in the night" for forgiveness.

The final stanza of the poem is perhaps the most powerful, as the speaker imagines the murderer's response to his plea for forgiveness. He imagines the man rising from his grave and embracing him, telling him that he forgives him and that they are "brothers." This image of reconciliation and forgiveness is deeply moving, as it suggests that even the most heinous crimes can be forgiven and that redemption is possible for all.

At The Executed Murderer's Grave is a remarkable poem that speaks to the universal human experience of guilt, shame, and the need for forgiveness. Through its vivid imagery and powerful language, it invites us to reflect on our own capacity for empathy and forgiveness, and to see beyond the surface of our actions to the deeper humanity that lies within us all. As such, it is a poem that deserves to be read and remembered for generations to come.

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