The Life and Poetry of Edwin Arlington Robinson Essay Example for Free

The Life and Poetry of Edwin Arlington Robinson Essay Poetry is the rhythm of every writers soul. It varies in distinction from one artist or poet to the next. Poems dont generally appeal to the greatest number of individuals, and they could hardly be regarded as a popular or esoteric form of entertainment. But the writer Edwin Arlington Robinson; and the proficient body of work hes accomplished in his poetry over the extent of his writing career, and perhaps essentially, his life, appears to negate or depart from the aforementioned sentiment. The three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, evokes in his poetry, aspects of humanity which most every individual are able to identify with. Robinsons capacity to encompass and evoke the aforementioned sentiments in his poetry has led him to be regarded and aptly dubbed as a â€Å"people poet,† and by the time of his death on 1935, the writer whose poetry was admired by president Theodore Roosevelt himself, was widely regarded and recognized as a leading American poet of his era and generations to come, establishing him along the likes and ranks of fellow American poet, Robert Frost. Edwin Arlington Robinson was born the oldest son of Edward Robinson and Mary Palmer on December 22, 1869 in Gardner, Maine to a particularly well-to-do family. He had two brothers siblings who didnt share or enjoy his particular successes. One of them was a doctor who eventually became a drug addict, and the other was an alcoholic who fueled his addiction by squandering the family fortune. Robinson did not marry like his brothers did, but he claimed to have fallen in love more than once, and despite shyness, the poet had a significant number of close friends (Donaldson). Robinson learned to acknowledge early on that poetry was his calling. Although his initial works were not as well received as his later writings, the poet nonetheless pursued and consummated this particular interest which he claimed was the only thing he knew how to do. He took classes in French, English and Shakespeare in Harvard for a brief period of two years until he was forced to leave at the instance of his fathers death. He wrote copiously and exhaustively after his fathers funeral, and much to his initial reluctance, he obligingly took the role of becoming man of the house (Porter). Like many writers, artists and poets, and despite being born into a rich family, Robinson suffered through a period of poverty which lasted several years, mainly because his brother had already depleted the fortune they were born into, and because as a writer, or poet, he wasnt exactly afforded the highest of compensations, let alone was regularly paid or published at all. Writing was Robinsons way of coping with circumstances which were presented to him, and his poetry served as a vivid and artistic reflection, documentation, or perhaps, personal translation of reality as it occurred and unfolded in his private sphere, and elsewhere surrounding him. Robinson was among the first poets to write of ordinary people, of the seeming mundane, trite and hackneyed instances which occurred to individuals in the course of existence on a day-to-day basis. He wrote of butchers, misers, store clerks, and similar seemingly insignificant individuals with a creative eloquence which rendered the ordinary people he was referring to as exquisitely and achingly beautiful pieces and embodiments of humanity in a world that would otherwise be viewed as insufferable and humdrum. He captured the plight of every working man, although he was not necessarily one of them. And the particular theme afforded by his poetry differed from what other writers and poets in 19th century America were expressing and indulging in, this separated Robinson from the pack and established him as a distinct and unique voice of his era (Donaldson). Robinsons close attention and sensitivity to rhythm, harmony and sound is largely evident in every word, line and stanza which constitute his poetry. This sentiment is most evident in his perhaps most widely recognized poem entitled â€Å"Richard Cory,† a lyrical verse neatly written and composed of traditional rhyming verses which simply begged to be read aloud. Its content, however, is in no way traditional for its time, and as what has been already mentioned, the verses, when read aloud, are delightfully and enormously pleasant to listen to. In it, Robinson relates an intriguing narration of a man named – as the title already connotes – Richard Cory, who appeared to be graced with all the fine, fortunate, and maybe even enviable characteristics a gentleman of Robinsons era could possess. This much is recounted throughout the extent of the relatively short, four-stanza poem, which culminates in an exquisitely tragic irony which evinces the talent and creative genius of Edwin Arlington Robinson, the poem begins by relating: Whenever Richard Cory went down town, / We people on the pavement looked at him: / He was a gentleman fromsole to crown, / Clean-favoured and imperially slim † (Robinson). Although the poem doesnt necessarily center on the previously mentioned theme which runs rife in Robinsons work – that is to say, the plight of the common working man – it nonetheless incorporates a sentiment of the said themed ordinariness in the verse when Robinson, or the narrating voice in the poem pronounces â€Å"we people on the pavement looked at him The tone of the poem then appears to be told from the perspective of the proletariat, the working class, the common people, or to put it crudely, the poor. The poet remains faithful to the individuals which exist as the central concern or topic of most of his other poems. And while Robinson may be speaking from the point of view of the common man in â€Å"Richard Cory,† he affords no prejudiced or ill view towards his rich protagonist; but instead paints a good natured, pleasantly mannered, sympathetic human being who just happened to be wealthy. Painting the person that is Richard Cory as admirable, instead of enviable. Of his protagonist he writes: â€Å"And he was rich, yes, richer than a king, / And admirably schooled in every grace: / In fine – we thought that he was everything / To make us wish that we were in his place. † (Robinson). The poet plays out every line with a neat and simple lyrical recounting, meant to be read for what it is, not camouflaging behind complex play of words and metaphors, or needing to impress under a facade of flamboyant and pretentious words and lyric. The beauty of Robinsons poetry, as evident in Richard Cory exists as such, neat and simple in form and structure, but lyrical, engaging, and addresses a fundamental aspect of humanity significant in any and every era. The concluding verse of â€Å"Richard Cory† affirms this assumption by divulging: â€Å"So on we worked and waited for the light, / And went without meat and cursed the bread, / And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet in his head. † (Robinson). Much like every great work of art, Robinsons poetry – as evident in the poem that is Richard Cory – provokes reflection. It asks individuals to consider the irony which exists and abounds in every persons reality, however fictional its context may be. It also drips of intrigue and tragedy, which are perhaps central elements of piquing human interest, but this is done with a certain preciousness, and even elegance which makes for a reflective and affecting, as opposed to â€Å"entertaining† piece. The culmination of Richard Corys life in suicide exists as both a mystery and an obvious or telling episode in a persons life, both in fiction and the waking reality. It presents a view of humanity which may not appear particularly novel or surprising for most of us today, but is something which should nonetheless be paid close attention to. â€Å"Richard Cory† embodies the precious simplicity as well as affecting irony and genuine heart which exists in Robinsons poetry. The poem affords readers an excerpt of a seeming rudimentary, but infinitely affecting piece of humanity which exists in the confines of rhyme, lyric, harmony that is essentially Edwin Arlington Robinsons poetry. Another fitting example of the poets genius which exists perhaps not as famously and to a different degree, but in a nonetheless exquisite and affecting manner, is Robinsons ode to a fellow poet, eponymously entitled, â€Å"Walt Whitman. † In it, Robinson relates, in tones akin to that of a great admirer of Whitmans, his sentiments on the instance of the esteemed humanist poets death. He begins the poem by pronouncing, â€Å"The master songs are ended, and the man / A name; and so is love, and life, and death Last night it was the song that was the man / But now it is the the man that is the song. † (Robinson). His admiration for Whitman as a fellow poet, a writer of songs and ballads of humanity is evinced in the beauty of the said verse, and in lines in which he speaks of Whitmans poetry and voice as â€Å"too pure for us – too powerfully pure, too lovingly triumphant, and too large (Robinson). These verses serve as a fitting poetic eulogy and remembrance of an equally remarkable poet. The poem culminates in a telling and powerful verse which exists in the following lines, â€Å"No songs are ended that are ever sung, / Mens letters on proud marble or on sand, We write them there forever. † (Robinson). The aforementioned lines hold a significant amount of truth, not only to Whitmans poetry, but to Robinsons and to every individual who commits to making concrete their passions as well. Edwin Arlington Robinson is regarded as a major American poet for this very reason, because the poetry he creates is able to reflect and evoke a great deal of humanity, and at the same time, impact on the realities which occur to every human being as well. The subtle and simple manner by which he approaches poetry, and the visceral and affecting characteristic which is evoked therein, establishes Robinsons prominence, and affords his words an enduring and affecting timeless significance to individuals and the better part of humanity.