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NAME OF POEM: The Deacon’s Masterpiece Or, The Wonderful “One-Hoss Shay”: A Logical Story
AUTHOR: Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809 – 1894)
DATE: 1885
THEME: There is always a “weak spot” in any piece of equipment or technology–something that breaks first. This poem is about a wonderful piece of machinery (the one horse shay) which is designed and built so well that there are no weak spots. The result is (sort of) a “logical story.”
REQUIRED READING? YES

POEM:

Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss shay,
That was built in such a logical way
It ran a hundred years to a day,
And then, of a sudden, it — ah, but stay,
I’ll tell you what happened without delay,
Scaring the parson into fits,
Frightening people out of their wits, —
Have you ever heard of that, I say?

Seventeen hundred and fifty-five.
Georgius Secundus was then alive, —
Snuffy old drone from the German hive.
That was the year when Lisbon-town
Saw the earth open and gulp her down,
And Braddock’s army was done so brown,
Left without a scalp to its crown.
It was on the terrible Earthquake-day
That the Deacon finished the one-hoss shay.

Now in building of chaises, I tell you what,
There is always somewhere a weakest spot, —
In hub, tire, felloe, in spring or thill,
In panel, or crossbar, or floor, or sill,
In screw, bolt, thoroughbrace, — lurking still,
Find it somewhere you must and will, —
Above or below, or within or without, —
And that’s the reason, beyond a doubt,
A chaise breaks down, but does n’t wear out. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Deacon’s Masterpiece Or, The Wonderful “One-Hoss Shay”: A Logical Story”