How to live, as instructed by the poetry of Edwin Arlington

Edwin Arlington Robinson, one of the premier poets of his day, portrays a wide variety of characters in his verse. These characters are multifaceted and layered with depth despite their apparent shallowness. Each one of these characters’s struggles share a common thread: they all concern how a person should go about living his/her life. Robinson exposes them for what they are and through them, deals with society’s most imminent search: the search for authentic and non-transitory contentment. The solution that Robinson endeavors to force the reader to uncover in his narrative poetry is that people are essentially social creatures and that “no man is an island.” Furthermore, Robinson hopes to halt individuals from their steadied thinking that materialistic pursuits in life are productive. Robinson compels the reader to come to this conclusion through his careful and deliberate implementation of the themes in his verse.

The only way that one can develop ties with genuine, feeling people is if he/she does not value the superficial more than the real. This idea is presented in the poem “Dear Friends.” In the poem the speaker expl

This idea that Cory finds himself in a catch-22 situation in that he is unable to find contentment in life due to his placement in it, is furthered through Robinson's use of regal diction. The speaker utilizes the words "imperially," "crown" and "king" to show that Cory is looked upon highly as far above the common folk, which intensifies his state of aloneness and feelings of loneliness, since nobody will ever be willing to understand his condition do to his upper standing. He lost this hope that maintained him for a short time due to the fact that even the hard working people that “waited for the light” refused to recognize the light, or truth, that was within Richard Cory.

Richard Cory is unable to find meaning because he is unable to live for himself. He is forced to live for others due to his position and status in the world. Richard Cory thinks that the path he walks down is the path that will provide him inner-peace; however, by the time he realizes this is not the case, it is too late. The public has placed Cory on a pedestal. For this reason, we only see the outside, materialistic Cory from the perspective of the narrator, the proverbial “we.” If one is on such a high level in the physical world, others will not accept the fact that this person could be lacking anything. This hurts Cory because he clearly lacks a certain higher purpose and is incapable of attaining one. People expect him to be self-sufficient. The only choice left for Cory is death, for that will help him in a twofold manner. Firstly, it will make him forget all his existential dilemmas because in death, he will not concern himself with them. Secondly, Cory thinks that in death he is likely to find happiness and truth because the afterlife is often portrayed in the world as being the place where the light is seen and all that is true and good is revealed. This explains the positive imagery juxtaposed to the telling of his death contained in the last two verses on the poem “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night/ Went home and put a bullet through his head.”

The thought that a person cannot live alone and ever truly be content is furthered in the poem "Aunt Imogen.” Aunt Imogen is always puzzled by the fact that, “she could be so much to any crazy thing

Some topics in this essay:
Richard Cory, Furthermore Robinson, Aunt Imogen, Arlington Robinson, Cory” Robinson’s, Secondly Cory, Imogen George, Moreover Robinson, aunt imogen, richard cory, , Aunt Imogens, edwin arlington robinson, social creatures, bullet head”, cory death, calm summer, “dear friends”, truly content, else person, meaning life,