Life, 1888-05-31 · page 3 of 20
Life — May 31, 1888 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "The Unexpected" (Life, May 31, 1888) This page features a romantic poem titled "The Unexpected" by Frank Roe Batchelder, illustrated with a courtship scene beneath a flowering plant. The poem narrates a man's confession of love to a woman at a social gathering—he leads her away from the dance floor and declares his feelings. The humor lies in the poem's twist ending: the man expects rejection or requires courage to speak, but the woman simply answers "Yes!" and allows him to kiss her. The "unexpected" element is her immediate acceptance, subverting the narrator's anxious anticipation. The illustration depicts the romantic moment—the couple seated intimately under decorative foliage—capturing the sentimental Victorian courtship narrative that Life's audience would have recognized and found amusing for its earnest romanticism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Votume XI. e ] | ; } Gi May 31ST, No. 283. 1888, THE] UNEXPECTED. HE was the reigning belle ! Straightway in love I fell ; Potent became the spell— Too plain for masking. Then for a time I wooed— For her sweet favor sued, Till I'd my courage screwed Up to the “asking.” Out of the glare and heat, Where to the music’s beat Tripped the untiring feet Of the gay dancer, Gently I led my fair Partner, so debonair, Told her the whole, and there Waited her answer. Sweet was the flowers’ perfume— Weird the enshadowing gloom ; From the gay, lighted room, Sweet strains came faintly. Turning, she smiled and blushed, Murmured surprise, and flushed, Then, in the silence hushed, Answered me quaintly. Doubtless you think she said, ‘When she had raised her head, That which all lovers dread : ‘She'd be my sister!” That's where you’ve made a guess Wrong, as you must confess ; For she said softly: ‘‘ Yes!" Yes! and I kissed her ! Frank Roe Batchelder, comicbooks.com