Edwin Arlington Robinson - Analysis

Edwin Arlington Robinson wrote two very interesting poems that both depicted realism writing characteristics. One of his very popular poems, "Richard Cory," had a very intense ending that really drove the meaning home. "Richard Cory" was a poem about a man who was supposedly "like royalty" to the towns people of "downtown" (Cusatis). The main character, Cory, takes a trip downtown and the poem notes that he inspires the people in the lower class. This poem was written during the Gilded Age in history. Gilded literally means "covered in gold." One misconception that goes along with that is that the society was only "covered with gold," and was not completely gold. A major portion of the society lived in poverty, while the rich business men, the gold part of society, lived the "high life." This poem was a perfect comparison of what the Gilded Age was really like. The final like of the poem basically said that Cory went home after the day of being downtown and "put a bullet in his head," meaning that the poverty was simply too much for him to handle (Cusatis). Cory's characterization is an example of how some people really lived their lives, which is why the poem can be considered a realism writing example.

Robinson is also known for his poem "Miniver Cheevy." This poem is very different from the previous poem, and is much less morbid. His poem is known for displaying dissatisfaction with the modern society of the the time period when it was written (Barton). Robinson uses the technique of juxtaposing the society of the time period to the society of past eras to depict his annoyance with the popular society. He basically showed his displeasure about growing up in his time period, and expressed how he wanted to grow up in a previous decade.This poem is definitely realism writing at its finest. Robinson wrote about the society that he lived in from his point of view, as are most all realism writing examples. Robinson also illuded to his dissatisfaction with the cultural and artistic life of the modern age (Barton), which would have been characteristics of literary periods before the Realism period.

Barton, Edwin J. "'Miniver Cheevy'." In Kimmelman, Burt, and Temple Cone, eds. The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CAP298&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 6, 2012).


Cusatis, John. "'Richard Cory'." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds.Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1333&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 6, 2012).