Mr. Flood’s Party By: Edwin Arlington Robinson

1. Mr. Flood’s Party By: Edwin Arlington Robinson Presenters: Esteban Hernandez Jose Rodriguez Roi Pimentel AadilZanher

2. Biography • Edwin Arlington Robinson was born in December 22,1869 in the town of Alana, Maine. He was the third son of Edward and Mary Elizabeth Robinson. Edwin’s parents was expecting females so they didn’t have any male names for Edwin so his parents had a lottery and the winner was the name, Edwin. Through his letters to Amy Lowell he described his childhood as stark and unhappy. After high school, he spent two years at Harvard University as a special student and he published his first poem in the Harvard Advocate. In 1896 Robinson printed and released his first volume of poetry, The Torrent and the night Before, with his own money. At 1897, The Torrent and the night Before, was revised an republished as , the Children of the Night. Robinson was unable to make a living as a writer so he got a job as an inspector for the New York City subway system. In 1902 Robinson published another poem called Caption Craig and other Poems, this received little attention until President Theodore Roosevelt praised it and was offered a job by Roosevelt in a U.S Customs House. Robinsons first major success was, The Man Against the Sky.

3. Connection To Edwin Arlington Robinson • When Edwin Arlington Robinson created Mr. Flood, he looked inward; for in a way he was Mr. Flood—a man driven to drink.  In the 1890s, when Robinson was in his twenties, his brother Herman married the woman Edwin loved. Then Edwin's father died, his family went bankrupt, his mother died, his brother Herman began drinking heavily, and in 1899 his brother Dean died after becoming addicted to Morphine.

4. Structure Of The Poem Type of Poem: Dramatic Lyric Poem Groups and Lines Seven Octaves; Fifty-six lines Rhyme Scheme: Every other line rhymes (second line rhymes with the fourth; sixth line rhymes with the eight). The rhythm is natural and steady. Pattern: ABCBDEFE GHIHJKLK MNONPQRQ STUTVWXW YZabcded fghgijkj lmnmopqp Meter: Iambic Pentameter Others: 19 Enjambments 6 Caesuras ....1................2.............................3................4........................5 Old E..|..benFLOOD,..|..climb ING..|..a LONG..|..one NIGHT ....1...............2.......................3.......................4.........................5 OvER..|..the HILL..|..be TWEEN..|..the TOWN..|..be LOW .....1................2....................3....................4...................5 And THE..|..for SA..|..ken UP..|..land HERM..|..iTAGE ......1........................2..................3..............4....................5 That HELD..|..as MUCH..|..as HE..|..should EV..|..erKNOW

5. Literary Devices • Metaphor: “valiant armor of scarred hopes” Armor is being compared to an emotional feeling • Alliteration: “not a native near” • Allusion: “Like Roland’s ghost winding a silent horn.” Roland is the hero from the French epic poem “The Song of Roland” • Simile: “He stood there in the middle of the road like Roland’s ghost…” Mr. Flood is being compared to Roland’s ghost • Personification: “two moons listening” The moons are given the quality of being able to hear

6. Diction OldEben Flood, climbingalone one night Over the hill between the townbelow And the forsaken upland hermitage That held as much as he should ever know On earth again of home, paused warily. The road was hiswithnot a nativenear; And Eben, havingleisure, said aloud, For no man else in Tillbury Town to hear: “Well, Mr. Flood, we have the harvest moon Again, and we may not have many more; The bird is on the wing, the poet says, And you and I have said it here before. Drink to the bird.” He raised up to the light The jug that he had gone so far to fill, And answeredhuskily: "Well, Mr. Flood, Since you propose it, I believe I will.“ Alone, as if enduring to the end A valiant armor of scarred hopesoutworn, He stood there in the middle of the road LikeRoland'sghostwinding a silenthorn. Below him, in the town among the trees, Where friends of other days had honored him, A phantomsalutation of the dead Rangthinly till oldEben'seyes were dim. Then, as a motherlayshersleepingchild Downtenderly, fearing it mayawake, He set the jugdownslowly at hisfeet Withtremblingcare, knowing that most things break;

7. Diction And only when assured that on firmearth It stood, as the uncertainlives of men Assuredly did not, he pacedaway, And withhishandextendedpaused again: "Well, Mr. Flood, wehavenotmetlike this In a long time; and many a changehascome To both of us, Ifear, since last it was Wehad a droptogether. Welcome home!" Convivially returning with himself, Again he raised the jugup to the light; And with an acquiescent quaver said: "Well, Mr. Flood, if you insist, I might. "Only a verylittle, Mr. Flood— For auld langsyne. Nomore, sir; that will do. So, for the time, apparently it did, And Eben evidently thought so too; For soon amid the silverloneliness Of night he liftedup his voice and sang, Secure, with onlytwomoonslistening, Until the wholeharmonious landscape rang— " "For auld langsyne." The wearythroatgaveout, The last word wavered, and the song was done. He raised again the jugregretfully And shook his head, and was again alone. There wasnotmuch that was ahead of him, And there wasnothing in the town below— Where strangers would have shut the many doors That manyfriends had opened long ago.

8. Vocabulary • Forsaken-abandoned or deserted • Hermitage- the dwelling of a hermit • Warily-cautiously; carefuly • Leisure- free time • Tilbury –a light, open two-wheeled carriage • Huskily-with excessive speed or urgency, hurriedly • Acquiescent-ready to accept something without protest, or to do without someone else wants • Quaver-shake or tremble in speaking, nervousness • For old langsyne- for old times sake • Harmonious-forming a pleasing or consistent whole • Convivially- friendly, lively, and enjoyable • Amid- surrounded by, in the middle of • Wavered- shakeing with a quivering motion

9. References • A French epic poem, The Song of Roland, happened on the Battle of Roncevalles. Roland’s forces was going against the invading Moors. Roland was commanding his Charlemagne’s army, he found himself alone in an area, surrounded by Moors. He fought them as hard as he could, but died right after he blew his horn to summon reinforcements that never came because they were all dead. • “For Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish tune that translates to "times gone by" and it’s about remembering friends from the past and not forgetting about them. The newly version of “For Auld Lang Syne” was written by Robert Burns in 1770, where it is now used for a holiday song in New Year’s eve. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld langsyne! Chorus.-For auld langsyne, my dear, For auld langsyne. We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, For auld langsyne.

10. More Facts • Published on Nov. 24 1920 by The Nation Magazine • Tilsbury town is a fictional town that is based on Robinsons hometown, Gardiner, Maine • Eben is short for Ebenezer, a biblical name.  • Ebb means the rise of a tide, which represents the good memories he had and flood means the overflowing of water in a dry land. In this case, the flood is the alcohol that he has been consuming.

11. Theme and Tone • Loneliness Mr. Flood lives alone, where all his friends died and the town had deserted him. • Desperation Since he’s all alone, he is in desperate for companion, so he talks to himself. • Time He soon realized that time is racing fast for him and his time is running out until death takes of him. So, he threw a drinking party while he can. Tone: Overall tone of the poem consists of depressed, sad, lonely, hopelessness, ultimately despair.

12. Fun Fact

13. Stanza One (Analysis) Old Eben Flood, climbing alone one night Over the hill between the town below And the forsaken upland hermitage That held as much as he should ever know On earth again of home, paused warily. The road was his with not a native near; And Eben, having leisure, said aloud, For no man else in Tillbury Town to hear: • Eben Flood is a lonely elderly person who is walking on a road that goes uphill. The road leads to his home which is located away from the town that is below the hill. Mr. Flood lives alone and all his friends and relatives have passed away. • Mr. Flood is the only person walking on the road since it is night time and the road is basically all his. Since Mr. Flood is by himself he feels calm and begins talking to himself and no one is around to hear him. • Mr. Flood had just filled up a jug with liquor in the town which is called Tilbury Town. • Tilbury Town is mentioned in other poems written by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Examples are “John Evereldown”, “Captain Craig”, and “Flammonde”. Tilbury Town represents the small town of New England and it is used as a setting in some of Robinson’s poems.

14. Stanza Two (Analysis) “Well, Mr. Flood, we have the harvest moon Again, and we may not have many more; The bird is on the wing, the poet says, And you and I have said it here before. Drink to the bird.” He raised up to the light The jug that he had gone so far to fill, And answered huskily: "Well, Mr. Flood, Since you propose it, I believe I will.“ Mr. Flood now begins to talk to himself as there is no one for him to talk to. The harvest moon is mentioned, meaning that Mr. Flood is thinking of what he had done in his life that it is worth harvesting. “The bird is on the wing” means that Mr. Flood has come to realization that time stops for no nobody and he keeps telling himself that. Then, he starts drinking and getting drunk. So he is happy in his drunk mind. He decides to give himself a drinking party to do a little “farewell” party to himself.

15. Stanza 3 (Analysis) Alone, as if enduring to the end A valiant armor of scarred hopes outworn, He stood there in the middle of the road Like Roland's ghost winding a silent horn. Below him, in the town among the trees, Where friends of other days had honored him, A phantom salutation of the dead Rang thinly till old Eben's eyes were dim. • He is alone once again in where he stands in the middle of the road. It looks like as if the town Is empty and he is the last person in Earth. • “A valiant armor” means that he is protected by hopes that’s not even there. • He is compared to “Roland’s Ghost” because he is alone in the road and if he does perform some kind of call , no one will come because all his friends are dead and the townspeople have shunned him. • So as he gets in the top of a hill, he sees the town that he once had memories of, especially with his friends, but all those disappears as Eben is slowly losing sight due to the fact that he is drunk.

16. Stanza 4 (Analysis) • Eben Flood is tipsy and is setting the jug of liquor down slowly onto the ground so it won’t break, possibly because his hopes and dreams were broken before. He describes the gentle descend of the jug by comparing it to a mother putting her child to sleep. The jug is the only thing left for him, so takes care of it gently like what a mother would do with her child. So he drinks to drown his sorrows knowing that most things leave him. Then, as a mother lays her sleeping child Down tenderly, fearing it may awake, He set the jug down slowly at his feet With trembling care, knowing that most things break; And only when assured that on firm earth It stood, as the uncertain lives of men Assuredly did not, he paced away, And with his hand extended paused again

17. Stanza 5 (Analysis) "Well, Mr. Flood, we have not met like this In a long time; and many a change has come To both of us, I fear, since last it was We had a drop together. Welcome home!" Convivially returning with himself, Again he raised the jug up to the light; And with an acquiescent quaver said: "Well, Mr. Flood, if you insist, I might. • He returns with himself in a cheerful manner, raises the liquor up to the moonlight, and makes a toast with himself in a trembling and complying voice. • Once the liquor is standing firmly on the ground, he walks forward and talks to himself (his old self) about how many has changed from his appearance to the town he grew up in, and he welcomes himself back home.

18. Stanza 7 (Analysis) He starts singing “For Auld Lang Syne” as he remembers his friends and misses them.  He was trying to get his friends back by drinking but he realized he was alone. Ahead of him is his old house and behind him is the town where his friends lived long ago, now strangers live there, and the doors of their homes are not open for him because he is drunk most of the times and no one dares to help. So he waits for his time to come and die alone. "For auld langsyne." The weary throat gave out, The last word wavered, and the song was done. He raised again the jug regretfully And shook his head, and was again alone. There was not much that was ahead of him, And there was nothing in the town below— Where strangers would have shut the many doors That many friends had opened long ago.

19. Stanza 6 (Analysis) "Only a very little, Mr. Flood— For auld langsyne. No more, sir; that will do. So, for the time, apparently it did, And Eben evidently thought so too; For soon amid the silver loneliness Of night he lifted up his voice and sang, Secure, with only two moons listening, Until the whole harmonious landscape rang— "  -He wanted to keeping reminisce about the past, Felt like he wasn't ready to accept the fact his alone.   -He was drunk and alone. - he was happy until he realized he was just drunk and only seeing his past self.

20. So What Does The Poem Mean? Everyone dies and their time will come, even yours. So enjoy life and do many things, cause you can only do so much in a short period of time. Make friends, Experience love, Have a family. Live it.