A Comprehensive Analysis of Miniver Cheevy, a Poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Edwin Arlington’s Robinson’s “Miniver Cheevy” contrasts the discontented frustrated live of Miniver Cheevy. When Miniver was born, there was some joy in his family, what I mean by this is that he was not happy at all because he was born late and was different from them. But, as the poem starts to telling us his goals and wants, we start noticing that he is not going in the right direction, and that he is wasting his time thinking about the past, when he can change the future.

Cheevy desires to go back to the “days of old” or the Medieval times, and he drinks to avoid reality. Robinson uses form, figurative language, sound devices, and tone to deliver this depressing message to us.

The poem “Miniver Cheevy” is a dramatic poem, because the narrator is the main character’s life and thoughts, and how it went from a dreamful person to a total dreamer. The narrator does a very good job by helping us understand the poem, he also gives us hints of the type of poem this is by satirizing the main character.

This poem has 8 stanzas in total with 4 lines each one, and has a set meter. The poem begins by telling what Miniver desires to achieve in life “He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot”, but it ends by telling the reality of his life “Miniver Cheevy, born too late… kept on drinking”, this sentence is very powerful and goes straight to the point, it just says how his dreams ended.

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The figurative language used by Robinson helps us understand better the way Miniver used to live. One of the strongest figurative language devices that he uses is Imagery. Imagery develops throughout the poem, and it becomes stronger every time “Miniver scorned the gold he sought”, this type of imagery contributes the poem strongly, because it’s basically telling his whole life in one sentence, it also starts building the mood of the poem “He would also have sinned incessantly Could he had been one”, and the tone which are both important devices in the poem. Allusion is also used throughout the poem “He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot”, This is talking about the great castle during the medieval times.

Sound devices add a special effect on the poem. There is a use of rhymes, alliteration, consonance, etc. Alliterations helps the reader to focus more in detail on the text “When swords were bright and steels were prancing, the vision of a warrior bold” This shows the magic of the medieval times, shows Cheevy’s desire to be in that time, and shows how Robinson uses alliteration to get the reader’s attention. “Old, Bold. Scorn, Born. Labors, Neighbors” This rhymes encourage the reader to keep reading because it creates a sense of humor and a nice beat for the reader to read, and enjoy.

The tone of this poem is humoristic but, misfortunate at the same time, because it is impossible for Cheevy to achieve his goals and wants. But for me as a reader, it is a funny story that can be used as an example of life. People can change the future and live the way they want to live. The theme of this poem is delivered through the poem’s tone, sound devices, and figurative language used throughout the poem. We as readers see that there is a huge difference between our desires/wants and reality. This poem’s message is that in life not all dreams can be reached and that some dreams stay just like dreams. People cannot live to change the past, but the past can change their lives.