This is a research paper about Edward Arlington Robinson. I just really felt like posting something totally random. Enjoy.
Alone by the Hand of Edwin Arlington Robinson
Edwin Arlington Robinson, born in 1869 to a wealthy family in Maine, was the youngest of three sons. He pursued poetry even as a child and was the youngest member of a local poetry club. He attended Harvard, but personal tragedy including the death of his mother and father set aside his personal goals. A few years later, his middle brother committed suicide by drug overdose. Robinson lived in poverty until President Teddy Roosevelt began to patronize him, arranging a job for Robinson at a customhouse. After Roosevelt left office, Robinson was forced to quit. In 1910, Robinson became critically acclaimed for “The Town Down the River”, and won three Pulitzer Prizes in 1922, 1925, and 1928. He later died in 1935. In the poems “Miniver Cheevy”, “Mr. Flood’s Party”, “Reuben Bright”, “Eros Turannos”, “The Mill”, and “Richard Cory”, Robinson shows the agony of his early life through the theme of loneliness in man’s soul.
The loneliness of a man “lost in the modern world” is seen in “Miniver Cheevy” (Untermeyer 53). Miniver Cheevy is called “child of scorn”, denoting his worthlessness in the eyes of the people. Miniver Cheevy “assailed the seasons”, basically cursing life, as people do in fits of personal loss and loneliness. Cheevy wept that he was ever born, and one might weep if he felt disliked and alone. In the next five stanzas, Miniver Cheevy dreams his wish to live in medieval, bygone times. Miniver Cheevy must be unhappy since there is no one to comfort him. The end of the seventh stanza sums up his living in illusory worlds to escape from loneliness, stating: “Miniver thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, / And thought about it.” The last stanza begins with “Miniver Cheevy, born too late” suggesting that Miniver Cheevy might have had friends had he lived in the medieval time period, and continues with “Scratched his head and kept on thinking”, again reiterating Cheevy escaping from his loneliness in the real world. Robinson writes: “Miniver coughed, and called it fate.” The cough might have been “suggesting pulmonary tuberculosis and/ or the pneumonia to which alcoholics are prey” (Cervo 213). The poem ends summing up Cheevy’s need to live in illusory worlds, and his lack of concern for his health, both culprits of loneliness: “And kept on drinking.”
Much like Miniver Cheevy’s loneliness, “Mr. Flood’s Party” shows the loneliness of an “aging drunkard” who outlives his friends (Lucas 27). “Mr. Flood’s Party” shows loneliness in the first line, which states: “Old Eben Flood, climbing alone one night”. In the second stanza, Flood begins to talk to himself and carry on an imaginative party, a sure sign of loneliness (Pack 74). He becomes filled with drink to wash away his pain from loneliness. He sets the jug, his only treasure, down “as a mother lays her sleeping child”, so carefully as if “knowing that most things break”. Mr. Flood takes precautions in setting down the jug because it only can stave off the total encroachment of loneliness. Flood continues his conversation with himself, until Robinson ends the poem summing up the origin of Old Eben Flood’s loneliness: “And there was nothing in the town below- / Where strangers would have shut many doors / That many friends would have opened long ago.” Mr. Flood experiences loneliness through outliving all of his past friends.
Just as “Mr. Flood’s Party” shows the loneliness of a man who has lost his friends, the poem “Reuben Bright” shows the loneliness of a man who has lost his wife. In this poem, Robinson focuses on “moments of sadness, desperation, and loss” (Lucas 35). The poem begins with a description of the butcher, but then switches to his reaction to the death of his wife. He is described as “shaking with grief and fright,” a reasonable reaction to the loneliness caused by the personal loss of a loved one. He cries so hard that it “made the women cry to see him cry”, until the grief from loneliness totally overcomes Bright. Much like the ending of “Richard Cory”, it is rather shocking to read the second part of the last line: “and tore down the slaughter-house.” This “wild grief” was the culmination of Ruben Bright’s loneliness caused by the loss of his wife (Hall 12).
While Reuben Bright is alone due to the loss of his wife, the inevitable loneliness of a couple is shown in “Eros Turannos”. The poem begins with Robinson stating that the woman dislikes the man with whom she is having a love affair. As Donald Hall explains, the woman in “Eros Turranos has a love affair only to avoid “solitary old age” (Hall 9). The woman fears that losing this man would cause her to be “Drawn slowly to the foamless weirs [dams]”, meaning that she would drown and die in a sea of loneliness. This plan seems to be a double-edged sword, though, because disliking her lover puts her in a constant state of loneliness, as she really has no actual lover. The gossiping villagers force her to isolate herself in her house. At the end, “Each [of the characters] is finally left empty and isolate” states Anna Blumenthal (411). The two lovers are again left separate and in a state of loneliness.
Sharing with “Eros Turranos” the connection between loneliness and a couple, “The Mill” is about the loneliness created by personal loss and the accompanying “suicide and failure” (Hall 10). As Glorianna Locklear said, “‘The Mill’ is … a sad tale of double suicide brought on by the encroachment of the modern world and personal loss” (175). The miller seems to show loneliness saying “There are no millers anymore”. The industrial revolution has made the antiquated miller job obsolete, so he was fired. This realization of no longer being needed creates loneliness, as this was his livelihood, and so the miller hung himself. His wife feels loneliness at the loss of her husband and provider. Therefore, the miller’s wife commits suicide drowning herself. This double tragedy showed loneliness through the personal loss and failure of a husband and wife.
While “The Mill” showed loneliness in a couple, “Richard Cory” shows how even the rich, who appear to have everything, can be lonely. The poem begins with a description of Cory, calling him “a gentlemen from sole to crown”, “clean favored”, and “imperially slim”, all denoting that he is of high status and wealth. Part of the second stanza states “But still he fluttered pulses when he said, / ‘Good-morning’”. David Kelly explains, Cory “created abnormal excitement with such regular expressions as ‘Good-morning’” (117). Such simple expressions would only be said in such a way if Cory had no friend to talk to, denoting loneliness. In the third stanza, the line “In fine, we thought that he was everything” is in past tense, denoting this is not believed anymore. Also, the word fine has many different meanings to suggest his loneliness and ultimate choice to end his loneliness. Kelly wrote that fine could mean “the end” as in music, foreshadowing Cory’s death of loneliness, or could mean “a monetary penalty”, as the common people want to take all his money from him because they do not know what it is like to be in Cory’s position (117). The last stanza of the poem begins with the common man ironically stating his plight of life without money, and then ends with Cory, despite his wealth, making the ultimate decision based on his loneliness and disconnect from society: “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, / Went home and put a bullet through his head.”
Edwin Arlington Robinson wrote about the theme of loneliness often in his poetry. This was understandable, as he was separated from society at some points in his life (Cowley 132). In “Richard Cory” and “The Mill” the characters approach loneliness by committing suicide. In others, such as “Mr. Flood’s Party” and “Miniver Cheevy” the loneliness leads to constant drinking of alcohol. In “Reuben Bright”, the main character becomes filled with rage because of loneliness, and in “Eros Turannos” the supposed cure for loneliness ultimately leads to more loneliness. All of these characters share the fact that they in some way become outcasts from society, leading to loneliness. E. A. Robinson often wrote about loneliness in the souls of many different peoples in his poetry.
Works Consulted
The loneliness of a man “lost in the modern world” is seen in “Miniver Cheevy” (Untermeyer 53). Miniver Cheevy is called “child of scorn”, denoting his worthlessness in the eyes of the people. Miniver Cheevy “assailed the seasons”, basically cursing life, as people do in fits of personal loss and loneliness. Cheevy wept that he was ever born, and one might weep if he felt disliked and alone. In the next five stanzas, Miniver Cheevy dreams his wish to live in medieval, bygone times. Miniver Cheevy must be unhappy since there is no one to comfort him. The end of the seventh stanza sums up his living in illusory worlds to escape from loneliness, stating: “Miniver thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, / And thought about it.” The last stanza begins with “Miniver Cheevy, born too late” suggesting that Miniver Cheevy might have had friends had he lived in the medieval time period, and continues with “Scratched his head and kept on thinking”, again reiterating Cheevy escaping from his loneliness in the real world. Robinson writes: “Miniver coughed, and called it fate.” The cough might have been “suggesting pulmonary tuberculosis and/ or the pneumonia to which alcoholics are prey” (Cervo 213). The poem ends summing up Cheevy’s need to live in illusory worlds, and his lack of concern for his health, both culprits of loneliness: “And kept on drinking.”
Much like Miniver Cheevy’s loneliness, “Mr. Flood’s Party” shows the loneliness of an “aging drunkard” who outlives his friends (Lucas 27). “Mr. Flood’s Party” shows loneliness in the first line, which states: “Old Eben Flood, climbing alone one night”. In the second stanza, Flood begins to talk to himself and carry on an imaginative party, a sure sign of loneliness (Pack 74). He becomes filled with drink to wash away his pain from loneliness. He sets the jug, his only treasure, down “as a mother lays her sleeping child”, so carefully as if “knowing that most things break”. Mr. Flood takes precautions in setting down the jug because it only can stave off the total encroachment of loneliness. Flood continues his conversation with himself, until Robinson ends the poem summing up the origin of Old Eben Flood’s loneliness: “And there was nothing in the town below- / Where strangers would have shut many doors / That many friends would have opened long ago.” Mr. Flood experiences loneliness through outliving all of his past friends.
Just as “Mr. Flood’s Party” shows the loneliness of a man who has lost his friends, the poem “Reuben Bright” shows the loneliness of a man who has lost his wife. In this poem, Robinson focuses on “moments of sadness, desperation, and loss” (Lucas 35). The poem begins with a description of the butcher, but then switches to his reaction to the death of his wife. He is described as “shaking with grief and fright,” a reasonable reaction to the loneliness caused by the personal loss of a loved one. He cries so hard that it “made the women cry to see him cry”, until the grief from loneliness totally overcomes Bright. Much like the ending of “Richard Cory”, it is rather shocking to read the second part of the last line: “and tore down the slaughter-house.” This “wild grief” was the culmination of Ruben Bright’s loneliness caused by the loss of his wife (Hall 12).
While Reuben Bright is alone due to the loss of his wife, the inevitable loneliness of a couple is shown in “Eros Turannos”. The poem begins with Robinson stating that the woman dislikes the man with whom she is having a love affair. As Donald Hall explains, the woman in “Eros Turranos has a love affair only to avoid “solitary old age” (Hall 9). The woman fears that losing this man would cause her to be “Drawn slowly to the foamless weirs [dams]”, meaning that she would drown and die in a sea of loneliness. This plan seems to be a double-edged sword, though, because disliking her lover puts her in a constant state of loneliness, as she really has no actual lover. The gossiping villagers force her to isolate herself in her house. At the end, “Each [of the characters] is finally left empty and isolate” states Anna Blumenthal (411). The two lovers are again left separate and in a state of loneliness.
Sharing with “Eros Turranos” the connection between loneliness and a couple, “The Mill” is about the loneliness created by personal loss and the accompanying “suicide and failure” (Hall 10). As Glorianna Locklear said, “‘The Mill’ is … a sad tale of double suicide brought on by the encroachment of the modern world and personal loss” (175). The miller seems to show loneliness saying “There are no millers anymore”. The industrial revolution has made the antiquated miller job obsolete, so he was fired. This realization of no longer being needed creates loneliness, as this was his livelihood, and so the miller hung himself. His wife feels loneliness at the loss of her husband and provider. Therefore, the miller’s wife commits suicide drowning herself. This double tragedy showed loneliness through the personal loss and failure of a husband and wife.
While “The Mill” showed loneliness in a couple, “Richard Cory” shows how even the rich, who appear to have everything, can be lonely. The poem begins with a description of Cory, calling him “a gentlemen from sole to crown”, “clean favored”, and “imperially slim”, all denoting that he is of high status and wealth. Part of the second stanza states “But still he fluttered pulses when he said, / ‘Good-morning’”. David Kelly explains, Cory “created abnormal excitement with such regular expressions as ‘Good-morning’” (117). Such simple expressions would only be said in such a way if Cory had no friend to talk to, denoting loneliness. In the third stanza, the line “In fine, we thought that he was everything” is in past tense, denoting this is not believed anymore. Also, the word fine has many different meanings to suggest his loneliness and ultimate choice to end his loneliness. Kelly wrote that fine could mean “the end” as in music, foreshadowing Cory’s death of loneliness, or could mean “a monetary penalty”, as the common people want to take all his money from him because they do not know what it is like to be in Cory’s position (117). The last stanza of the poem begins with the common man ironically stating his plight of life without money, and then ends with Cory, despite his wealth, making the ultimate decision based on his loneliness and disconnect from society: “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, / Went home and put a bullet through his head.”
Edwin Arlington Robinson wrote about the theme of loneliness often in his poetry. This was understandable, as he was separated from society at some points in his life (Cowley 132). In “Richard Cory” and “The Mill” the characters approach loneliness by committing suicide. In others, such as “Mr. Flood’s Party” and “Miniver Cheevy” the loneliness leads to constant drinking of alcohol. In “Reuben Bright”, the main character becomes filled with rage because of loneliness, and in “Eros Turannos” the supposed cure for loneliness ultimately leads to more loneliness. All of these characters share the fact that they in some way become outcasts from society, leading to loneliness. E. A. Robinson often wrote about loneliness in the souls of many different peoples in his poetry.
Works Consulted
- Blumenthal, Anna Sabol. “Edwin Arlington Robinson’s Tilbury Town Poems and William James.” Dalhouse Review. Winter 1991/1992: 411-437.
- Cervo, Nathan A. “Robinson’s ‘Miniver Cheevy.’” The Explicator. Summer 2004: 213.
- Cowley, Malcolm. “Edwin Arlington Robinson: Defeat and Triumph.” New England Writers and Writing. Ed. Donald W. Faulkner. Biddeford, Maine: UP of New England, 1996.
- Hall, Donald. The Essential Robinson. New York: Ecco Press, 1994.
- Joyner, Nance Carol. “Edwin Arlington Robinson.” Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 54. Ed. Peter Quatermain. Detroit: The Gale Group, 1987.
- Kelly, David. “‘Richard Cory.’” Poetry for Students, Volume 4. Ed. Mark K. Ruby. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale Research, 1999.
- Locklear, Glorianna. “Robinson’s ‘The Mill.’” The Explicator. Spring 1993: 175.
- Lucas, John. “The Poetry of Edwin Arlington Robinson.” Moderns & Contemporaries: Novelists, Poets, Critics. New York: Harvester Press, 1985.
- Pack, Robert. “Laughter at the Abyss: Hardy and Robinson.” The Long View: Essays on the Discipline of Hope and Poetic Craft. Boston: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1991.
- Robinson, Edwin Arlington. Collected Poems. New York: Macmillan, 1921.
- Untermeyer, Louis, “Edwin Arlington Robinson.” American Poetry Since 1900. Baltimore: Henry Holt, 1923.
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