Miniver Cheevy
Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem ‘‘Miniver
Cheevy’’ (1910) is the portrait of a man who is
discontent with the world he lives in and longs for
the better times of bygone eras. He sighs and
dreams about ancient Greece and the Renaissance
and Camelot, longing for his idealized ideas about
the civilizations and cultures that once were. Poor
Miniver idealizes any time that is not his own. He
sits and drinks and thinks about it.
Edwin Arlington Robinson was considered a
poet of darkness. He often looked at the depress-
ing side of life, examining traits that make up the
less admirable aspects of the human psyche. His
best known poems, such as this one and ‘‘Richard
Cory,’’ offer quick snapshots of the lives of indi-
viduals who are coping with despair, often hiding
their misery from the world and from themselves.
‘‘Miniver Cheevy’’ available in the Every-
man Library 2007 collectionRobinson: Poems,
but it is also frequently anthologized and can be
found in many collections of American poetry.
Author Biography
Edwin Arlington Robinson was born December
22, 1869, the third son of Edward and Mary
Palmer Robinson. He was born in Head Tide,
Maine, but six months later his family moved to
Gardiner, a town just a few miles away, which is
portrayed in his poetry as Tilbury Town. His
125EDWIN ARLINGTON
ROBINSON1910