Robinson's Works

The two poems written by Edwin Arlington Robinson titled "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" both display the common characteristics that come along with Realism. The characters in the poems are fairly average and are really nothing special or amazing, which is a large part of Realism (Campbell "Realism"). The writing styles of the poems are also very simple and the thoughts conveyed are very to the point and easy to understand.

The hero in "Richard Cory" is the typical and definitely average person that is usually in Realism works. He is not an extraordinary person but rather simple and easy to relate to, because a lot of people reading these poems are like that, too (Robinson "Richard"). However, Richard Cory is not middle class person but is actually fairly wealthy. However, his financial gains do not really translate into the rest of his life because he is average in most other aspects (Robinson "Richard"). The main character of "Miniver Cheevy" is also an average person, so both of the works displayed that part of Realism (Campbell "Realism"). Even though Richard Cory is pretty average, the other characters in the story seem to think he is destined for much more than that, and that he could have anything he wanted. And then all of a sudden, Richard Cory kills himself by shooting himself in the head (Robinson). This was how the author proved that he was not a perfect person in the slightest, and that he obviously had a lot of problems.

In "Miniver Cheevy", the main character, Miniver, with fantasies about King Arthur and the Round Table (Robinson "Miniver"). He is very average, but uses his little fantasy as a way to add a little excitement to his normal life. Miniver feels like he is missing out on something that he will never really be able to get in his life. Despite his day dreaming and fantasies, Miniver realizes that he is just a normal boy and there was nothing he could do about it However, these day dreams start to consume Miniver and he is desperate to have something that he never could. Again, this story is very realistic because sadly, people really do kill themselves for reasons that seem silly to others that simply may not understand (Robinson "Miniver").

Despite having a lot to do with the Realism period, neither of these two poems have much of a connection with the Naturalism part of Realism. There is nothing to do with science and analytical thinking or philosophy in the poems. Regionalism is definitely not a big presence in the poems either. There is nothing to do with the setting or the region the stories take place in. Society is a presence in the stories, however. Society plays a big part on how both Richard and Miniver feel about themselves (Robinson). Human nature is brought into the poems because of what Miniver and Richard think and feel and how they handle their emotions.There are no substantial mentions of religion or government in the poems, and nothing about nature either. For Richard and Miniver, the American Dream to have something that is simply unattainable to either of them. There is no figurative, flowery language to soften up the story, nor are their happy heroes who get everything they want.

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. Web 21 March 2010.
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 575.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Miniver Cheevy." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 576.