Miniver Cheevy

Question

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.

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

Minever 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.

Answer 1

"Miniver Cheevy" by Edwin Arlington Robinson presents a poignant exploration of disillusionment, nostalgia, and the struggle to reconcile one's desires with the realities of life. The poem centers around Miniver Cheevy, a character who embodies a deep yearning for a more heroic and glamorous past—a past filled with knights, warriors, and an age of romance that he feels has been lost in his contemporary world.

Robinson uses Miniver's character to illustrate the theme of dissatisfaction with modernity. Miniver is depicted as a "child of scorn," growing increasingly weary as he laments his own existence and the mundane nature of life in his own time. The contrasting images of the past that he cherishes—Thebes, Camelot, and the Medici—highlight his romantic ideals and the richness of history that he feels he has been denied.

There’s an underlying irony in Miniver's character; despite his disdain for the "commonplace" and his longing for a life of grandeur, he remains stuck in a reality he hardly engages with positively. He is caught in a cycle of dreaming without action, reflecting a broader struggle faced by many who feel out of sync with their era. His “thinking” ends up being futile, leading him instead to drink as a means of escape, which signifies an inability to confront the disappointments of life directly.

Robinson uses this character to comment on the tension between the past and the present, and the human tendency to romanticize what was while struggling against what is. Miniver Cheevy becomes a universal figure, representing the discontent that can come from feeling out of place in one's time, and the quest for meaning and identity in a world that often feels unremarkable.