The Lament of the Mormon Wife: A Poem

Holley, Marietta, 1836-1926Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.7

Word count: 6.7K words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Lament of the Mormon Wife: A Poem by Marietta HolleyAuthor: Holley, Marietta, 1836-1926,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 27, 2018

Editor's review

This verse work by the nineteenth-century American writer Marietta Holley presents, in rhymed form, the lament of a Mormon wife; it is a rare American literary text in poetry that takes up the subject of polygamy. Holley was known for humor, satire, and dialect writing, and beneath this poem's lyrical surface lies a vein of social observation; it can be read alongside contemporary discussions of religion, gender, and family structure in the American West. As a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, it is brief and in English, suitable as a primary source for readers interested in American literary history and in religion and gender studies. It is not a plot-driven narrative poem; it is better approached with historical context in mind, attending to the speaker's voice and the layers of feeling. Because the text is early, some expressions and verse conventions feel distant to contemporary readers; reading with notes or background material is advised, treating it as a small window onto nineteenth-century American social attitudes rather than mere literary entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students of nineteenth-century American literature and religion
Readers interested in Mormon history and the polygamy debate
Lovers of English poetry willing to read closely
Readers collecting primary sources on American women's writing

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking tightly plotted, strongly narrative works
Beginners who need Chinese support and are not yet comfortable reading English
Readers expecting systematic historical scholarship or an annotated academic edition

Reading tips

Learn a little about nineteenth-century Mormon polygamy before entering the poem.
Read the poem aloud, noting changes in rhyme and in the speaker's tone to feel the layers of lament.
Compare it with works by other American women writers of the period to observe differences in perspective.
After reading, note lines about family, faith, and the self, for later review.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this poem suitable for readers with no background in religious history?

It can be read, but a little background on nineteenth-century Mormonism and polygamy is advised. The poem is short and in English verse; without context, one may catch only surface emotion and miss its social observation. Treat it as a text in historical context and read it with brief background material for a smoother experience.

Is this a complete poetry collection or a single work?

According to the available information, this is a single poem titled The Lament of the Mormon Wife, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. It is not Holley's collected works and contains no editor's introduction or scholarly notes; expect the reading time and depth of a single poem.

What supporting materials should I prepare?

An English dictionary for nineteenth-century usage and a brief introduction to early Mormon history and the situation of American women at the time are useful. For deeper reading, note Holley's other satirical writing to understand the tonal layers beyond the poem's lyricism.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Holley, Marietta, 1836-1926 Author

Marietta Holley (1836–1926) was an American writer known for humorous, satirical regional narrative. Through the voice of the countrywoman Samantha, she commented on nineteenth-century American social customs, religious life, and the situation of women, in a comic style that found favor with readers of her day. The library holds twenty-two of her works, including My Opinions and Betsey Bobbet's, the multi-volume Samantha among the Brethren series, Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other Islands, Betsey Bobbett: A Drama, and Josiah's Alarm, and Abel Perry's Funeral. These works mostly use figures such as Samantha and Betsey Bobbet to link together short stories and commentary. Public information on the details of her life is limited; this note relies only on the library's holdings and well-established literary-historical common knowledge.