A Prehistoric Bliss

Innovation and technological advances are supposed to improve the lifestyle of the common individual. However, are there draw-backs to materialistic advancements? Does humanity lose its ability to appreciate beauty or forget the concept of chivalry? Edwin Arlington Robinson comments on the change in society after the Industrial Revolution in his poem “Miniver Cheevy.” Miniver is a man that desperately longs for the idolized past and looks with contempt on the innovations of his civilization. Robinson uses Miniver’s persona to identify the flaws and shortcomings of modern society. Through the thoughts of Miniver Cheevy society is depicted as being alienating, ignorant, and materialistic.

Robinson immediately within the first two lines of the poem establishes a dismal tone. His subject, Miniver Cheevy, is described as being a “child of scorn / [and that he] Grew lean while he assailed the seasons” (Robinson 1-2). The harsh diction underlines the unhappiness and stress that surrounds the existence of this individual. Being a pupil of contempt and having to vigorously fight through the changing seasons does not elicit a benevolent life purpose. Miniver’s life is depicted as miserable and almost pointless because he constantly “wept that he was ever born, / and he had reasons” (Robinson 3-4). Cheevy’s disdain stems not from a personal tragedy, but rather a shift in the values and traditions of society as a whole. The present day civilization leaves his soul emotionally drained and his mind in a constant state of dreaming. Miniver “loved the days of old” (Robinson 5) and “sighed for what was not”(Robinson 9). Cheevy glorifies for himself the historical decades long past dead, but that is his reaction to the utter dissatisfaction that he feels towards the world that he lives in. Miniver Cheevy’s life can be considered a failure, but he “fails because his sentimental attachment to an imaginary past and his preference for illusion above reality leave him spiritually dead” (Stovall 6). Rejecting the purity of the modern mindset can make an individual feel alienated and causes Miniver to withdraw into himself surrounded by loneliness.

Miniver Cheevy desired to live among the Knights of the Roundtable or bask in the presence of the artists of the Italian Renaissance. He believed that Camelot, warriors, and famous families, like the Medici, held strong passionate beliefs. They represent “romance,” honor, and beauty, which to him are extinct ideals. Cheevy’s longing runs so deep that he “would have sinned incessantly / Could he have been” (Robinson 15-16) a Medici. For a person which such aspirations and apparent interest in art, a society where “Art, [is] a vagrant” (Robinson 12) is not only unnerving but completely unbearable. Cheevy’s eyes want to appreciate his environment and adore beauty, however, all he looks upon is a “khaki suit with loathing” (Robinson 18). When referring to Cheevy’s feelings on reality powerful and unsettling words, such as: “assailed,” “mourned,” “vagrant,” “cursed,” “loathing,” “scorned,” and “annoyed.” Using such harsh, direct, and uninviting diction is an intentional mechanism to represent the discontent and unacceptance Miniver harbors for the modern society he finds himself trapped in. With no appreciation for beauty, civilization can be described as being ignorant and self-absorbed. When mentioning the past lighter and more positive words are used to create a contrasting impression. Cheevy thought about “when swords were bright and steeds were prancing / The vision of a warrior bold / Would set him dancing” (Robinson 6-8). These lines scream joy and passion and even warriors, who could be associated with blood and death, make Miniver’s heart gain an upbeat rhythm. “Steeds were prancing,” represents freedom and nature, which is apparently omitted from the reality Cheevy seeks so desperately to ignore. Miniver paints an ideal world of the past, which means he is not very well educated in the reality, but his present day life is so overbearing that he seeks a fantasy society.

Cheevy’s modern society places a lot of emphasis on materialistic possessions and just money in general. Cheevy expresses that he “scorned the gold he sought, / But sore annoyed was he without it” (Robinson 25-26). Despising the monetary hunger his fellow peers, Miniver still cant not escape that mindset because he is a product of his surroundings and not his idealistic past. He spent so much time pondering this internal contradiction that his “thought” process is repeated four times consecutively in the poem. Repetition is a powerful tool and it brings emphasis to the heartache his materialistic inclinations bring him. However, that creates an irony since his idealistic heroes of “Thebes, Camelot, and Troy were upper class people with plenty of wealth, who killed each other for love, not money” (Perrine 70-71). That irony creates a juxtaposition of his thoughts because is it really modern society that is so unbearable or just his poverty? But at the same time even this irony underlines his overall greater interest for love and beauty, over the materialistic demand for money. He places on a pedestal wars fought for love instead of monetary gain, and did not the Industrial Revolution place more emphasis on personal possessions and climbing the ladder of financial success.

Miniver Cheevy is so alienated from his society that he entraps himself in a illusional dream world of the past. A lot of one-sided visions could be attributed to the fact that he accepted his reality as “fate / And kept on drinking” (Robinson 31-32). An alcoholic is not a credible source on any topic, but he was driven to alcoholism by the shortcomings of his society. No specific individual tragedy was ever mentioned, only the cold, ruthless facts about his world are revealed. Robinson through his use of repetition, juxtaposition, comparison, irony, and diction presents a social commentary on society long into the Industrial Revolution through the disheartened eyes of Miniver Cheevy. Even the name, Miniver Cheevy, is ironic in the sense that it “links him to the Middle Ages” (Perrine 72) because Cheevy “is not too distant from “chevalier” and “chivalry”- knights and knighthood” (Perrine 72). Basically, Miniver was doomed from the start to be miserable in his own skin because everything about him belongs to an age that is long past gone.



Works Cited


Perrine, Laurence. "A Reading of Miniver Cheevy." Colby Quarterly 6.2 (1962): 65-74. Digital Commons. Berkley Electronic Press. Web. 5 Feb. 2010. .

Robinson, Edwin A. ""Miniver Cheevy"" 100 Best-Loved Poems. Ed. Philip Smith. New York:Dover Publications, 1995. 82-83. Print.

Stovall, Floyd. "The Optimism Behind Robinson's Tragedies." American Literature 10.1 (1938): 1-23. JSTOR. Web. 5 Feb. 2010. &Search=yes&term=rob
nsons&term=behind&term=tragedies&term=optimism&list=hide&searchUri=/action/d AdvancedSearch?q0%3Dthe%2Boptimism%2Bbehind%2Brobinsons%2Btragedies%26 0%3 Dall%26c0%3DAND%26q1%3D%26f1%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q2%3D%26
%3Dall%26c2%3DAND%26q3%3D%26f3%3Dall%26wc%3Don%26Search%3Dsear
h%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&item=1&ttl=51 &returnArticleService=showArticle&resultsServiceName=doAdvancedResultsFromArticle&coo kieSet=1>.