Lines 1-18- Supposed to sound like a radio announcer is reading this portion of the poem. Listen to a reading here.
Line 3: “Tintex”- “A household dye” (Baker 47). Photo of logo.
Line 3: “Japalac”- “A trademark for varnishes, stains, and enamels made by Glidden Company, Cleveland” (Baker 47).
Line 3: “Certain-teed Overalls”- Referring to the brand of overalls manufactured by Certain-teed Products Corporation (which also produces shingles, paints, varnishes, etc). (Baker 47).
Line 5: “Bert Williams”- An African-American comedian who died in 1922 (Baker 49).
"Bert Williams." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Line 6: “Minstrels when you steal a chicken…”- Referring to the common assumption that Negro’s steal chickens (Baker 49).
Line 8: “Erie”- Referring to the Erie Railroad, a long railway system that passed by Crane’s childhood home in Warren, Ohio (Baker 52).
"Erie Railroad (1971)." Library of Congress. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Line 9: “Mazda”- Referring to the Edison Mazda Lamps (Baker 47).
Lines 9-10: “Thomas a Ediford”- A play on the name Thomas a Becket, who was a medieval Archbishop in England. Crane, however, combines the names of inventors Thomas Edison and Henry Ford (Baker 53).
"Thomas Edison Lightbulbs." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
"Henry Ford's Model T." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Line 13: “SCIENCE-COMMERCE and the HOLYGHOST”- Crane compares the trilogy of science, commerce, and technology to the Christian trinity (Baker 54).
Line 14: “NORTHPOLE”- Between the years 1925-1926, there was a series of attempts to reach the North Pole by airplane (Baker 54).
Line 16: “WIRES OR EVEN RUNning brooks”- This phrase is supposed to sound like the radio announcer’s voice is breaking up to the listeners.
Line 18: “as you like it…eh?”- Referring to William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It (Baker 55).
"A Scene from William Shakespeare's Play, "As You Like It."" Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Line 20: “the Limited”- Referring to the 20th Century Limited, which was an express passenger train that ran on the New York Central Railroad (McCulloch).
"20th Century Limited." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.