Grave of James Rutledge, father of Ann

[RJNorton]

(11-02-2015 10:09 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  Roger, what specifically are the "signs" some people believe are indicative of Lincoln being the author?

Joshua Speed told William Herndon in an interview on June 10, 1865, about the alleged suicide poem. Speed was unsure of the date, but put it in the 1840-1841 time frame. Lincoln apparently sent the Sangamo Journal a few lines entitled "Suicide" which were published in the paper. Herndon did a search of the Sangamo Journal but never found the poem. Herndon was suspicious that Lincoln may have cut it out of the file copy (or asked someone to do it for him).

For well over 100 years the poem went undiscovered. Then, about 15 years ago, scholar Richard Lawrence Miller noticed an unsigned poem titled "The Suicide’s Soliloquy" in the August 25, 1838, edition of the Sangamo Journal. The paper explained that the note was found by the unidentified bones of an apparent suicide located near the Sangamon River.

Three arguments given by Joshua Shenk (in his book titled Lincoln's Melancholy. How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness) that Lincoln probably wrote this poem are: (1) it has the same meter as Lincoln’s other published verse; (2) it is close to the date given by Speed when he told Herndon about it; (3) its syntax, tone, reasoning, and references are characteristic of Lincoln.

Regarding the poem Richard Lawrence Miller said:

"I believe the poem was simply a literary exercise by Lincoln. At that time he was a member of a writers group in Springfield, and members shared their productions with one another. Revealing intimate thought to the public, even anonymously, would have been contrary to his personality, even if his mood were bleak at the time the poem was written. But sharing a work in which he felt pride would have been comfortable for him, even though he didn't take public credit for his poetry.

Regarding that, perhaps he felt that writing poetry would have been inconsistent with a public reputation as a tough politician. Indeed, political consequences of publishing a poem that expressed suicidal thoughts are another reason to believe the poem wasn't autobiographical, even if his own experiences with depression helped provide the poem's emotional power.

Note, too, that at the poem's conclusion the narrator reports that he has committed suicide, another reason that the item shouldn't be taken literally as Lincoln speaking about himself. Dead men tell no tales."