Poem Analysis - Those Annual Bills

Overview: A Humorous Lament

Mark Twain's "Those Annual Bills" is a short, humorous poem lamenting the inevitability of debt. The poem adopts a lighthearted, frustrated tone as the speaker reflects on past indulgences and the recurring cycle of bills. While the poem maintains a generally comic mood, there’s an underlying sense of resignation and the acceptance of this frustrating reality. The poem's simplicity belies a universal experience: the annoyance of paying for things long after their enjoyment.

The Theme of Ephemeral Pleasure and Lasting Cost

One of the central themes of the poem is the fleeting nature of pleasure compared to the persistent burden of its cost. The speaker fondly remembers "joyous beans" and "onions blithe," highlighting the simple pleasures of life. However, these delights are quickly "passed away" and "lost," contrasting sharply with the relentless return of "annual bills." Twain uses vivid imagery of consumption and forgetting to emphasize how quickly enjoyment fades, while the bills serve as a constant reminder of past indulgences. The enduring presence of debt underscores the theme that pleasure is temporary, but its financial consequences can be long-lasting.

Mortality and the Inescapability of Bills

The poem subtly touches on the theme of mortality through the speaker's reflection on their own future. The line "And so 'twill be when I'm aground" suggests an awareness of eventual death. Even in death, the speaker anticipates that "These yearly duns will still go round," suggesting the bills will continue to haunt even after they're gone. This evokes a darkly comic image of bills as an inescapable part of existence, outliving even the person who incurred them. This theme speaks to the overwhelming and universal nature of financial obligations, which seem to transcend even death.

Imagery: From Food to Phantoms

Twain employs vivid imagery to enhance the poem's impact. The descriptions of "joyous beans" and "onions blithe" create a sensory experience of simple, rustic pleasures. This is then contrasted with the image of the unpaid bills as "vexing ILLS," personifying the bills as an ailment or source of irritation. The speaker also invokes a spectral image when he describes the bills as "shades" that "troop back." This imagery subtly transforms the bills from mere financial documents into phantom reminders of past enjoyment, increasing the sense of annoyance and inescapability. The use of food as a initial image to represent the enjoyable, but easily forgotten joys of life, gives this otherwise somber theme a lighter tone.

A Poet's Curse

The final stanza introduces the image of future "bards, with frantic quills," who will continue to "damn and damn these annual bills!" This adds a layer of humor and suggests that the frustration with bills is a timeless and universal experience. By positioning himself as part of a long line of disgruntled poets lamenting the woes of debt, Twain elevates the poem from a personal gripe to a shared human sentiment. This conclusion offers a final insight into the poem's significance, which is that financial frustration is an enduring part of the human condition, worthy of even poetic expression.