Miniver Cheevy

Janine De LeonQuynh PhamJason ChoyAlex PhamDanny PhanPeriod 4

by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;He wept that he was ever born, And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;The vision of a warrior bold Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors;He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, And Priam’s neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown That made so many a name so fragrant;He mourned Romance, now on the town, And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici, Albeit he had never seen one;He would have sinned incessantly Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;He missed the mediæval grace Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought, But sore annoyed was he without it;Miniver thought, and thought, and thought, And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late, Scratched his head and kept on thinking;Miniver coughed, and called it fate, And kept on drinking.

Miniver Cheevy

Edward Arlington RobinsonBorn on December 22, 1869 in

Lincoln County, MaineDied on April 6, 1935 in New York

CityRemained unnamed until he was six

months old, because his parents were expecting a girl

Studied at Harvard UniversityWon three Pulitzer Prizes for his

poetryHis brother married the woman he

lovedNever married and died of cancer at

the age of 65

E. A. Robinson

● Edwin Arlington Robinson's “Miniver Cheevy” is a dramatic lyric poem centering on a twentieth-century misfit who dreams of living in the heroic age of sword and horse.

● Miniver is the name of a white or gray fur used in earlier times to trim the ceremonial robes of royals and nobles. In his dreams about the past, Mr. Cheevy perhaps sees himself in such fine robes as an important person at the court of a king—or as the king himself.

● Cheevy resembles words derived from the French noun cheval lining of the fur (horse) to identify gallant knights (chevaliers) and their code of honor (chivalry).

Background

Structure● The structure of "Miniver Cheevy" contains eight four-line stanzas (quatrains). The first and

third lines of each stanza have masculine end rhyme, and the second and fourth lines have feminine end rhyme. Masculine rhyme occurs when the final syllable of a line rhymes with the final syllable of another line. Feminine rhyme occurs when the final two syllables of a line rhyme with the final two syllables of another line.

● “Miniver Cheevy” uses a traditional rhyme scheme known as ABAB, which means that every other line rhymes. It also has a set structure. The first and third lines of each stanza have eight syllables (iambic tetrameter), while the second line of each stanza has nine syllables, and the last, shorter line of each stanza has five syllables. Both of these lines do not have any meter.

● By making longer and shorter lines in each stanza, Robinson creates an uneven feeling to the poem. Just as Miniver Cheevy feels out-of-sync with his era, the meter of the poem seems a little out-of-sync.

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;He wept that he was ever born, And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;The vision of a warrior bold Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors;He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, And Priam’s neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown That made so many a name so fragrant;He mourned Romance, now on the town, And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici, Albeit he had never seen one;He would have sinned incessantly Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;He missed the mediæval grace Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought, But sore annoyed was he without it;Miniver thought, and thought, and thought, And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late, Scratched his head and kept on thinking;Miniver coughed, and called it fate, And kept on drinking.

Rhyme Scheme & Diction A

B A

B

C

D C D

E

F E

F

G

H

G H

I J I

J

K L

KL

M N

M N

O

P O

P

Negative

PositiveMiniver Cheevy, child of scorn, Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;He wept that he was ever born, And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;The vision of a warrior bold Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors;He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, And Priam’s neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown That made so many a name so fragrant;He mourned Romance, now on the town, And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici, Albeit he had never seen one;He would have sinned incessantly Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;He missed the mediæval grace Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought, But sore annoyed was he without it;Miniver thought, and thought, and thought, And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late, Scratched his head and kept on thinking;Miniver coughed, and called it fate, And kept on drinking.

Neutral

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;He wept that he was ever born, And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;The vision of a warrior bold Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors;He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, And Priam’s neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown That made so many a name so fragrant;He mourned Romance, now on the town, And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici, Albeit he had never seen one;He would have sinned incessantly Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;He missed the mediæval grace Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought, But sore annoyed was he without it;Miniver thought, and thought, and thought, And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late, Scratched his head and kept on thinking;Miniver coughed, and called it fate, And kept on drinking.

Stanza 1

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,

Grew lean while he assailed the

seasons;

He wept that he was ever born,

And he had reasons.

Here Miniver Cheevy says that he is born into hatred. This first line already sets the tone for the poem being that scorn implies disparagement.

1. scorn: the feeling belief that someone or something is worthless or despicable2. assailed: made a concerted or violent attack on

A

B

A

B

He got thin as the years went by

1

He wished he had never been born, and rightfully so. Showing regret for the lifestyle that he was born into.

2 Oxymoron

Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices

Alliteration

Repetition

Feminine rhyme

Masculine rhyme

Miniver loved the days of old

When swords were bright and steeds were

prancing;

The vision of a warrior bold

Would set him dancing.

Stanza 2

3. steeds: horses being ridden or available for riding4. prancing: moving with high springy steps

C

D

C

D

Miniver feels that if he were born earlier that he could have had a chance at glory. He loved the glory days of the knights fighting each other

3 4

In earlier times a knight was a person held with great esteem. Miniver could have been one of those knights, giving his life a whole knew meaning

Thinking about those times made him happy enough to dance

EnjambmentImagery

Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices

Repetition

Miniver sighed for what was not,

And dreamed, and rested from his

labors;

He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot,

And Priam’s neighbors.

Stanza 3Miniver was not happy with the life he lived. He mourned “what was not” and imagined a different existence. He alludes to the past, such as Ancient Greece.

5. Thebes: a city of ancient Greece6. Camelot: the legendary site of King Arthur’s palace and court7. Priam: a king of Troy

E

F

E

F

Ancient Greece:● Thebes is famous in myth,

legend, and history, including Oedipus, who was a mythical Greek king of the city

● Priam was king during the Trojan War.

The Arthurian World:● Camelot was where King

Arthur ruled and it was the capital of his realm in Arthurian romances.

5 6

7

Historical Allusions

Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices

Repetition

Miniver mourned the ripe renown

That made so many a name so

fragrant;

He mourned Romance, now on the

town, And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver is sadly disappointed that there will be no romance and artistry that once gave poetry the uprise and grand tragedy that seemed to him to be forgotten in the present shown as a nobody in life.

Stanza 4

8. renown: the condition of being known or talked about by many people9. vagrant: a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging

G

H

G

H

Enjambment

8

9

Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices

AlliterationRepetition Personification

I

J

I

J

Miniver loved the Medici,

Albeit he had never seen

one;

He would have sinned

incessantly

Could he have been one.

Stanza 5Miniver daydreams about the legendary personages, so called Medici, whose wickedness would incite him to perform his own evil deeds, if only he could escape into the past and change into an infamous family

Renaissance:● Medici: Italian noble family

who produced three popes (Leo X, Clement VII and Leo XI) and two queens (Catherine de Medicis and Marie de Medicis). Rulers of Renaissance Florence.

10. Medici: wealthy Italian family11. Albeit: although12. incessantly: without interruption

Historical Allusions

Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices10

11

12

AlliterationRepetition Enjambment

Miniver cursed the

commonplace

And eyed a khaki suit with

loathing;

He missed the mediæval grace

Of iron clothing.

K

L

K

L

Stanza 6Miniver hates the quiet peace that he is given. He is disgusted with his current appearance and misses the suit of armor that was worn during the war.

Khaki:textile fabric of a dull brownish-yellow color, in particular a strong cotton fabric used in military clothing.

13. khaki: beige cloth used to make military uniforms14. mediæval (alternative spelling to medieval): of or relating to the Middle Ages15. iron clothing: suit of armor

Historical Allusions

Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices

13

14

15

Enjambment

Alliteration

Repetition

Synecdoche

Miniver scorned the gold he sought,

But sore annoyed was he without

it;

Miniver thought, and thought, and

thought,

And thought about it.

Stanza 7Miniver criticize the idea of looking for gold. But without such wealth, constant thinking of poverty leaves him depressed.

M

N

M

N

16. gold: money17. sought: desired to obtain or achieve

16Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices

Repetition

17

O

P

O

P

Stanza 8

When Miniver Cheevy “kept on drinking,” he gave up on himself, he’s hopeless for a better future.

“Born too late” is referring back to the first quatrain how he was the “child of scorn,” because he wasn’t born first and he wasn’t a girl. It wouldn’t matter if he wasn’t a girl if he was born early.

He realized that he couldn’t control when he was born and blamed it on “fate.”

Figurative Language/ Poetic Devices

AlliterationRepetition Miniver Cheevy, born too late,

Scratched his head and kept on

thinking;

Miniver coughed, and called it

fate,

And kept on drinking.

Quiz1. Where was E. A. Robinson born?2. How many Pulitzer Prizes did Robinson win?3. What type of poem is this?4. What is the tone for the first line in the poem?5. Define scorn.6. In stanza 3, what does the author allude to?7. In stanza 5, what does Miniver Cheevy daydream about?8. What is khaki used for?9. In stanza 7, why does Miniver feel depressed?10.The poem uses a _____ rhyme scheme known as _____.