Selected Poems of Edwin Arlington Robinson
by Edwin Arlington Robinson
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Edwin Arlington Robinson's finely crafted, formal rhythms mirror the tension the poet sees between life's immutable circumstances and humanity's often tragic attempts to exert control. At once dramatic and witty, his poems lay bare the loneliness and despair of life in genteel small towns, the tyranny of love, and unspoken, unnoticed suffering. The fictional characters he created in "Reuben Bright," "Miniver Cheevy," and "Richard Cory," and the historical figures he brought to life - Lincoln show more in "The Master" and the great painter in "Rembrandt to Rembrandt"--Harbor demons and passions the world treats with indifference or cruelty. With an introduction that sheds light on Robinson's influence on poets from Eliot and Pound to Frost and Berryman, this collection brings an unjustly neglected poet to a new generation of readers. show lessTags
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Being a choice of poesy which emphasize the melancholy of relationships which have failed or atrophied and immortalize mortality and the failed aspiration. Although Robinson is not particularly well-remembered, his masterpiece "Richard Cory" is still represented in many anthologies, and his characterization of one Miniver Cheevy is out there as well. Both poems are examples of how punchy and dramatic the author could be; in this, as well as his themes, his work is reminiscent of two even greater Englishmen, A. E. Housman and Thos. Hardy. This selection does not limit itself to these poems, though; several longer, more involuted works are included which demand more time and attention and which are a little taxing.
Probably my favourite poet. Read his sonnet 'The Tavern'. Magnificent...
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Harold Bloom - The Western Canon: D. The Chaotic Age
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Author Information
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Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 - April 6, 1935) was a poet. He was born in Head Tide, Maine. Robinson attended Harvard University from 1891 to 1893. Robinson published two volumes of poetry. To make ends meet, Robinson worked as a checker of shale used to build the New York subway system. Theodore Roosevelt later helped Robinson get a show more job as a clerk in the New York Customs House, a position he held until 1910. Robinson is a three-time winner of the Pulizer Prize: In 1921 for Collected Poems; in 1924 for The Man Who Died Twice, and in 1927 for Tristram. Robinson died of cancer on April 6, 1935 in the New York Hospital (now New York Cornell Hospital) in New York City. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Selected Poems of Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Original publication date
- 1966
- Important places
- Tilbury Town, New England, USA (fictional place)
- First words
- Dear friends, reproach me not for what I do,
Nor counsel me, nor pity me; nor say
That I am wearing half my life away
For bubble-work that only fools pursue.
Introduction: A reevaluation of the work of a poet as established as Edwin Arlington Robinson should involve us in some of the fundamentals we tend to forget when we read any poetry that happens to come to hand--the poetry th... (show all)at is thrust upon us by critics and in courses in literature as well as the poetry that we seek out or return to. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)...He told us yet that we were there
To make as much as we could read
Of all that he had learned.
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- 204
- Popularity
- 158,880
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.79)
- Languages
- English, Finnish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 7
