Edwin Arlington Robinson had a fairly horrible life. His parents desperately wanted a girl. He wasn't given a name until 6 months after his birth and even then it was because some vacationers insisted they give him a name. So a stranger drew a name out of a hat. And so, he hated his name. Edwin's older brother was so handsome and married the woman Edwin loved. His oldest brother was so successful but became an addict. His pessimistic and depressing writing stems from his just as sad and unfortunate life.

It goes without saying, Mr. Flood's Party is the best one of the three poems by Edwin Arlington Robinson as it elicited feelings from me that I never felt before.  

Throughout the poem, the word "alone" and "old" is heavily repeated

In the first and second stanza he sets the tone and setting for the poem, describing this man as alone, old, and living in a isolated and secluded home. It is during the harvest moon, meaning thanksgiving a holiday during which the family is happily together feasting. Yet, he is drinking alone during this time of year, the only time he no longer feels lonely. I think once someone reaches this nadir, it is very heartbreaking.

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Furthermore, the reason why this poem had this major impact on me was the fact that Mr. Flood was my neighbor. Well kinda. I had the greatest pleasure of living across the house from this wonderful old lady. Her only son was all grown up heavily invested in his career and wife. Her husband died many years ago. Her younger sister lived in Massachusetts. So, when I finished reading this poem on my own for the third time, all I could think of was my neighbor and how she must have felt during the holidays. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must feel like to wake up on the happiest times of the year to a silent and empty home. There isn’t anywhere to go as everything is closed. Year after year, the same thing over and over again.

The last stanza felt really raw and it was a powerful ending. You come to realize everyone is dead. The descriptive language and imagery go hand in hand to create this depressing final scene.

“And there was nothing in the town below--

Where strangers would have shut the many doors 

That many friends had opened long ago.” 

We are left to wonder just how much longer Mr. Flood can take of living like this.



Richard Cory  

This poem is a close second for me. This poem is short and sweet, straight to the point. I love the fact that it rhymes. (I think writers chose their words even more carefully and spend so much more time on their poem when it rhymes. I think rhyming poems tend to be wittier too and flow/sound better/cooler.)  

Anyway on the surface you instantly recognize the hackneyed “not everything is what it seems" 

But the poem goes way beyond that!! The poem is narrated by "we people" who us, as the audience, relate to them as we all have that one person we just cannot help but envy from the sideline. 

We see the light and dark contrast again. His use of words one would use to describe royalty, such as king, grace, and imperial, really builds up this grand image of Richard Cory. His terrible fate reminds us of several who unfortunately left the world the same way.  

Why is it that despite having everything we still feel empty???? The ending was foreshadowed from the beginning. I desperately hoped otherwise but that never really seems to happen in literacy. 

Luke Havergal

It is a dark poem. At first I thought it was lame and redundant. But then I realized the repetition was merely building up the intensity of the poem, creating this eerie tone of a torn person. It effectively contrasts light and dark elements but it is much more dark, overall. After reading it two or forty two times more you begin to finally understand it. My favorite line from this poem is

"The dark will end the dark."

So, self destruction is a reoccurring theme. I like the line as it makes me want to know just how bad is it that not even the tiniest bit of "light" could help him. Does darkness get the best of us in the end? Overall, it was an all right poem.

What they all have in common though is that the

End result is   D E A T H 
Which makes sense as in the end we all die.