“Mr. Wells” in “Life From Within”
Mr. Wells
On Sunday morning, then he comes
To Church, and everybody smells
The blacking and the toilet soap
And camphor balls from Mr. Wells.
He wears his whiskers in a bunch,
And wears his glasses on his head.
I mustn’t call him Old Man Wells—
No matter—That’s what Father said.
And when the little blacking smells
And camphor balls and soap begin,
I do not have to look to know
That Mr. Wells is coming in.
Richmond Daily Register Negatives, 1967-1969, image no. 2012a019-006-001, Eastern Kentucky University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives. Used with permission from EKU Archives.
About this poem
By Jason Gibbs
“Mr. Wells” demonstrates Elizabeth Madox Roberts ability to capture a moment with verse and description, as the poem works to recall a familiar memory for many and exemplify lasting social nuance. The poem has a youthful playfulness to the lines and subject matter, especially in the narrator's approach to various aspects of Mr. Wells.
The poem also is familiar in the sense that a lot of children tend to struggle to comply with social nuances, whether it be bluntness or the unfamiliar smell of older generations. This allows the poem to bridge the gap between its own time period and ours.
One of the most important aspects of the poem is that it is situated in its time period, though, as it focuses on those experiences that often feel so unique to a particular time period. One example of this is the mention of Mr. Wells smelling like camphor balls, which can be compared to moth balls, although there are a variety of reasons Mr. Wells may smell like camphor, such as from using camphor cream.
Roberts' cultural representation is an important takeaway from this poem and, while many aspects of it previously discussed reflect that, few may be more important than the act of going to church. What this poem ultimately comes together to present is an image of attending church through the eyes of a young narrator whose attention is caught by an older gentleman’s various quirks, a notably relatable experience culturally for a lot of people growing up at the time and since in Kentucky. Beyond that shared experience, the mere act of attending church has also been a lasting cultural norm presented in the poem by Roberts.
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