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

            How to live, as instructed by the poetry of Edwin Arlington Robinson .
             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 explains to the reader that his "friends- make fun of him for wasting his life away "For bubble-work that only fools pursue."" The speaker mocks them for this and calls their work "bubbles- instead. He is ridiculed because his friends want him to live for the same reason they do "for material wealth. They are made insecure by the speaker challenging the way their lives are lived because he lives his life differently, and is content with it when he says "The shame I win for singing is all mine/ The gold I miss for dreaming is all yours."" In other words, only they think he is losing out; he does not. The "friends" are in denial about their materialistic endeavors. They want the path they are going down to be the correct one and they need the speaker on their side so they will not be questioned.


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

1. Richard Cory

Edwin Arlington Robinson portrays the common wealth and the higher class and shows how each class views each other in the poem. ... Robinson also uses great connotation in his poetry. ... This change in language told the reader something was coming but left the reader even then in wonder as to how it was going to end. ... The connotations in "Richard Cory" were left by Robinson to add extra wonder to his poetry. ... But all of us know bizarre is always put above boring in poetry. ...

  • Word Count: 548
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Suicide as Revelead in the Poetry of Hughes and Robinson

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost In the poems, "Suicide's Note," by Langston Hughes and, "Richard Cory," by Edwin Arlington Robinson (reprinted in Thomas R. ... Hughes' and Robinson's works qualify as poetry because their writings are an emotion found in all cultures and eras that found words to express themselves and, according to Robert Frost, therefore qualify as poetry. ... The poem, "Richard Cory," by Edwin Robinson tells of a depressingly lonely man named Richard Co...

  • Word Count: 593
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Richard Cory Literary Analysis

The poem Richard Cory was written by Edwin Arlington Robinson who was educated at Harvard. ... Edwin Arlington Robinson drew inspiration for his poems from the tortured lives of his family and acquaintances. ... Edwin Arlington Robinson took what could have been a complex story if told by a novelist, and summed it up into sixteen lines. Robinson wrote this poem exactly how life itself would show us. ... Edwin Arlington Robinson kept this poem short and to the point. ...

  • Word Count: 1000
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Poetry Values

Poetry Selections on Values In the poem "Is My Team Ploughing" by A. ... In the poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson, the speaker seems to be a poor man or woman who looks up to Richard Cory. ...

  • Word Count: 415
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Illusion Vs. Reality

Edwin Arlington Robinson, a heavy satirist, often used the theme of illusion as a contrast to the reality of a situation. ... This was done to show how unforgiving industrialism, and perhaps the world in general, really was. ... Both King Arthur and the Medici family lived in times of feudalistic rule, mass plagues, and many other degrading aspects of society. ... Within the poem "Cliff Klingenhagen," Robinson reveals how happy Cliff really is on the last few lines, by using the reflection of his dinner guest: "I have spent Long time a-wondering when I shall be As happy as Cliff Klingenhagen...

  • Word Count: 618
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Poetic Views of Death

Auden, uses Pieter Brueghal's painting to describe how people carry on in their daily lives, despite the suffering of others. "Richard Cory," written by Edwin Arlington Robinson, narrates that despite ones appearances, other feelings both psychological or physically can be happening. ... "In Brueghel's Icarus, or Instance; how everything turns away. ... ""And he was rich yes, richer than a King / And admirably schooled in every grace: / In fine, we thought he was everything," "Richard Cory," poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson. ... Yet they are able to live on "So on we wo...

  • Word Count: 755
  • Approx Pages: 3

7. Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson

The inferior image of the speakers is described in depth as "[w]e people on the pavement looked at him" (Robinson line 2) and "we thought he was everything/[t]o make us wish that we were in his place" (Robinson lines 11-12), in addition to "went without the meat, and cursed the bread" (Robinson line 14); these verses portray the pauper situation in which the townspeople lived. ... Even though Cory had a lot of fans, he took his own life, a picture-shattering action that leaves the reader questioning how could they have been wrong about Richard Cory the entire time...

  • Word Count: 761
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. In the Snack Bar by Edwin Morgan

Edwin Morgan describes as he helps the old man, the only customer to do so. ... Edwin Morgan uses many comparisons throughout this poem to describe the elderly character. ... Edwin Morgan also uses repetition in this poem to emphasise the slowness of the man's movements. ... Edwin Morgan uses his final paragraph to reflect on the life of the old man and how this would be a hard life to lead, almost unimaginable to himself. ... This poem is well written and describes the main character very effectively, so that the reader can picture the man himself and imagine what his life could be like ...

  • Word Count: 917
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Isolation - The Worst Kind of Loneliness

" Chaudhry's words can be applied to the theme of isolation in both William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," and Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Cory.... The authors use situational irony to show the effects of isolation on Emily and Richard, as well as how they choose to cope with their loneliness. William Faulkner and Edwin Arlington Robinson use a first person pleural narrator, setting, and situational irony in order to demonstrate the common theme of isolation in their literary works "A Rose for Emily" and "Richard Cor...

  • Word Count: 1022
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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