# William H. Herndon explained — Spoon River Anthology > Chapter companion for Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. ## What happens William H. Herndon, sitting by his window in old age, reflects on his memories and visions of the past, particularly the rise of Abraham Lincoln from humble origins to a figure of epic destiny, and the tragic interplay between Lincoln and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. ## Themes in this chapter ### Death and Legacy Herndon contemplates Lincoln's deathless destiny and the enduring impact of his life, juxtaposed with the mortal act of Booth's assassination. ### Illusion vs. Reality Herndon's memory is described as a 'shining dream' and a 'pageant,' blurring the line between historical truth and personal vision, especially in the theatrical metaphor of Booth's 'mimic play within the play.' ## Character check-ins ### Webster Ford The speaker of the poem, William H. Herndon, is represented by the Spoon River persona Webster Ford, who reflects on his memories of Lincoln and Booth. ## Key lines > There by the window in the old house Perched on the bluff, overlooking miles of valley, My days of labor closed, sitting out life’s decline, Day by day did I look in my memory, As one who gazes in an enchantress’ crystal globe, And I saw the figures of the past, As if in a pageant glassed by a shining dream, Move through the incredible sphere of time. From his window on the bluff, Herndon spends his old age gazing into his memories as if into a crystal ball, watching the past parade before him like a dream. _Herndon's reflective, almost mystical recollection of history._ > And I saw a man arise from the soil like a fabled giant And throw himself over a deathless destiny, Master of great armies, head of the republic, Bringing together into a dithyramb of recreative song The epic hopes of a people; At the same time Vulcan of sovereign fires, Where imperishable shields and swords were beaten out From spirits tempered in heaven. He saw Lincoln rise from humble origins like a mythic giant, becoming a military leader and president who forged the nation's hopes into an enduring legacy, like a divine blacksmith creating immortal weapons. _Herndon's heroic, almost mythological portrayal of Lincoln's rise and impact._ > Look in the crystal! See how he hastens on To the place where his path comes up to the path Of a child of Plutarch and Shakespeare. O Lincoln, actor indeed, playing well your part, And Booth, who strode in a mimic play within the play, Often and often I saw you, As the cawing crows winged their way to the wood Over my house-top at solemn sunsets, There by my window, Alone. Herndon urges us to see in his vision how Lincoln's path converges with that of Booth, a figure shaped by classical and Shakespearean drama. He recalls seeing both Lincoln and Booth often, as crows flew at sunset, while he sat alone by his window. _The tragic intersection of Lincoln and Booth, framed as a theatrical performance, with Herndon as a solitary witness._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters/william-h-herndon - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters