Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Edward Field’s poem “Whatever Happened to May Caspar?” offers a poignant and satirical exploration of the decline of a once-celebrated movie star. Through a rich, narrative style that reads like an animated cartoon or a dramatic script, Field provides a moving commentary on the nature of fame, the fragility of celebrity, and the societal tendency to idolize and discard stars once their prime has passed.

The poem begins with a general observation about “old movie stars, those faded queens of stage and screen.” Field sets the scene of their inevitable decline by depicting them as living in hotels near Times Square, “funny old ladies with hair a pink frizz, / salvaging old costumes for street clothes.” This vivid imagery contrasts sharply with the glamorous personas they once projected, highlighting the disparity between their past and present realities.

May Caspar, once “all the rage in thirty-three,” is introduced as the embodiment of this decline. Field nostalgically recalls her breakout role in "May Morning", where she played a “simple country girl” opposite Ronald Peale, who “lost his heart among the apple blossoms.” This idyllic love story, steeped in purity and innocence, contrasts with the subsequent grim reality of Caspar’s personal and professional life.

The poem shifts to a detailed portrayal of May Caspar’s rituals in front of her vanity table, where she stares “at the blur in the mirror” and remembers her youthful appearance in her first big role. Field captures the pathos of her attempt to recreate her former beauty by “painting a Kewpie doll over the wreck of her face.” However, her efforts result in a face that “always comes out crooked,” symbolizing her inability to restore her lost glory.

Field then recounts her disastrous marriage to Nick Kinsella and the physical abuse she suffered, followed by a series of unsuccessful surgeries to regain her looks. The poem continues with a series of other roles she played, including “femme fatale roles on divans with heavy eye makeup.” In "A Woman’s Eyes", she captivated audiences as “the toast of Vienna,” only to end up in “a waterfront bar in Marseilles.” Her signature song, “A woman’s eyes are pools of sin,” became tragically linked with multiple suicides, revealing how deeply her performances resonated with troubled audiences.

Caspar’s greatest role, in "The Downward Path", encapsulates her career arc: she played a mature stage star who falls in love with a young actor, only to be abandoned for a younger ingenue. This mirrors her real-life decline as she ends up “selling flowers by the stage door.” Despite her tragic fate, her eyes “shone in that scene,” demonstrating the enduring love she felt for the young actor. This portrayal earned her forgiveness from the American public, who excused her “parade of unsuitable husbands” and “drunken brawls in restaurants.”

However, her fame was short-lived, and she faded into obscurity. By the time the poem reaches her current situation, she is “that funny old lady / living shabbily on a dwindling income in a Times Square hotel.” Her financial troubles mount, and she is on the verge of being evicted. But a beacon of hope appears in the form of an invitation to a May Caspar revival at the Museum of Modern Art.

Field’s description of her rejuvenation at the “Last Chance” beauty resort is both comical and tragic. She is treated with “hormones, vitamins, embryo implants, and surgery,” and her beauty is restored, but only superficially. Her “strength is not what it was,” and “two men have to hold her up.” The effort to look young again is overwhelming, as she tries desperately “to think young, to hold everything up.”

The poem’s climax occurs as May Caspar collapses during her attempted comeback scene on the divan. Field describes her final struggle under “those merciless lights,” with her “skin held taut by invisible clips, / her heart stimulated with drugs.” The tragic irony is palpable as “everything collapses,” and Field bids her a bittersweet farewell: “Good-bye, May Caspar. / We loved you / in the way we love / faithlessly.”

In the closing stanza, Field reflects on the fleeting nature of fame and our relationship with stars like May Caspar. He acknowledges our “faithless” love and suggests that perhaps as we age, we become “ready to remember again / our great loves / of yesteryear.” The imagery of the “shabby places” near the “brightest lights” that “cast the deepest shadow” captures the bittersweet nature of memory and nostalgia.

In summary, “Whatever Happened to May Caspar?” is a deeply moving reflection on the fragility of fame and the cruelty of time. Edward Field masterfully blends humor, pathos, and satire to create a narrative that both entertains and evokes empathy. The poem serves as a poignant reminder of the ephemeral nature of celebrity and the enduring allure of the past.

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