Journal 14

Journal #14 - E. A. Robinson Poems

Realism – The theory or practice in art and literature of fidelity to nature or to real life and to accurate representation without idealization of the most typical views, details, and surroundings of the subject.

Read the following poems and write a detailed description for each of the title characters and explain how each is an example of the “real” instead of the “ideal.”

“Richard Cory“ (497)
This poem is written from the prospective of onlookers who loked up to and adore Richard Corey, believing he lives a perfect life that they should also strive for. When the poem takes a turn and Richard Corey kills himself. This adds a very real twist to the poem, depicting a realistic situation where on the outside someone seems to be perfect but no one really knows what is going on in their life.





“Miniver Cheevy” (497)

This poem is about a man named Miniver who thinks he was born in the wrong era. He dreams about a life in a different time period of the past. He never does anything with his present life because he was so caught up on his idealistic one. This is a real situation of people waste their actual life wishing the had a different one.





“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)
The main character, Mr. Flood, is a lonely man who lost all those close to him. He is so lonely that he decides to drink and have a “party” by himself. This reminds us of real problems surrounding alcoholism after losing loved ones.