Poems — Key Ideas to Explore

Comic Verse and the Snake Motif

The excerpt from "The Sorrows of Hinda and Kleinfelter" provides the most extended example of Mercer's comic technique. The poem describes a young woman, Lulu, who believes a snake is biting her during a dance. The narrative builds suspense through exclamations and rapid dialogue: "A serpent is biting me under my dress!" The punchline—that the "snake" is a steel hoop skirt—turns the crisis into a joke about fashion. Mercer uses the snake as a recurring symbol, linking it to Eve and the fall: "So the old snake in Paradise brought us to grief." The poem's meter is a loose anapestic tetrameter, which allows for comic asides and exaggerated rhymes. The voice is that of a raconteur, addressing the reader directly: "O Fashion, what follies your votaries make." This section demonstrates Mercer's ability to sustain a narrative over several stanzas while maintaining a light, ironic tone.

Elegy and the Soldier's Death

In contrast to the comic pieces, "In Memoriam" for Lieutenant Boyd Mercer adopts a formal, restrained diction. The poem opens with a general reflection on selflessness: "Some souls, unmoved by lust of fame or pelf, / Pass their whole lives without a thought of self." The subject is praised for modesty and courage: "Modest in manner as a gentle maid, / As lion bold was duty's call obeyed." The poem concludes with a religious consolation: "Christ's soldier marches in eternal joy." The language is conventional for the period, relying on stock epithets and balanced couplets. The elegy does not describe the circumstances of the lieutenant's death, focusing instead on his character. This piece, along with others like "The Angel of the Hospital" and "Battle of Mill Spring," suggests that Mercer's war poems often emphasize personal sacrifice over political ideology. The contrast between the comic and elegiac modes is sharp, and the reader must adjust to the shift in register.

Partisan Poetry and Historical Context

Mercer's foreword acknowledges that the "partisan poems breathe the spirit of the times in which they were written—the stormy '60s." The collection includes poems such as "John Morgan and His Men" and "Battle of Nashville," which likely celebrate Confederate figures, though the excerpts do not include these. The foreword also recounts a controversy over the authorship of "The Angel of the Hospital," a poem found on the body of a Confederate officer. This anecdote illustrates how poems circulated across battle lines. Mercer's position as a newspaper editor during Reconstruction—first for the Louisville Journal and later for the Nashville Press and Times—places him at the center of political and literary networks. The poems thus function as historical documents, reflecting the sectional loyalties and rhetorical strategies of the era. The reader should approach these pieces with an awareness of their original context: they were written for immediate publication in partisan newspapers, not as timeless art.

Mercer's Poems rewards a reader interested in the intersection of journalism, politics, and poetry in the postbellum United States. The collection's unevenness is itself instructive: the same poet who writes a comic snake poem also composes a dignified elegy for his brother. Pay attention to the dates and original publications noted in the foreword, as they provide clues to the poems' intended audiences. The voice shifts not only between poems but within them, and the reader should be prepared for sudden changes in tone and subject.

There’s a particular ache in Mercer’s war poems—that mix of pride and sorrow—which lingers long after the pages close. I found myself thinking of that quiet tension the other day, and it led me back to 1914, and Other Poems — A Reader’s Guide, where that same old feeling wears a newer, sadder coat. It felt like an old friend’s handwriting.