Spoon River Anthology · Chapter
Scholfield Hurley explained
Scholfield Hurley boasts of human achievements in science, engineering, and the arts, yet questions the divine purpose of creation when faced with mortality and decay.
What happens
Scholfield Hurley boasts of human achievements in science, engineering, and the arts, yet questions the divine purpose of creation when faced with mortality and decay.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Legacy
Hurley juxtaposes human accomplishments with the inevitable decay of the body, questioning the lasting value of creation.
The Search for Meaning
The poem expresses a crisis of purpose, as Hurley seeks God but finds only existential weariness.
Characters to notice
- Scholfield Hurley
Speaker who catalogues human progress and challenges God about the futility of creation in the face of death.
Key passages
“God! ask me not to record your wonders, I admit the stars and the suns And the countless worlds.”
Don't ask me to praise your creations; I already acknowledge the universe's vastness.
Hurley begins by conceding the grandeur of the cosmos.
“I have written the Iliad and Hamlet ; And I have explored your mysteries, And searched for you without ceasing, And found you again after losing you In hours of weariness— And I ask you: How would you like to create a sun And the next day have the worms Slipping in and out between your fingers?”
I have achieved great art and sought you tirelessly, yet I ask: how would you feel to create something magnificent only to see it decay immediately?
Hurley challenges God with the absurdity of creation followed by decay.