Mr. Floods Party by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Jonathan Flores, Allan Aguilar, Daniel Luna, Kamie Chiu, Francisco Caceres

Edwin Arlington Robinson

• Edwin was born in Lincoln county Maine

in December 22, 1869

• Studied at Harvard University

• His love was stolen by his brother

Herman

• He won Pulitzer prize three times in the

1920’s

• Had a hard childhood

• Parents died during his early years

• Wrote depressing poems(Town of Lincoln county main)

Structure• “Mr. Flood's Party” is a dramatic lyric poem on a lonely old man.• The poem consists of seven stanzas, each with eight lines, for a total of

fifty-six lines.• “Mr. Flood’s Party” by Edward Arlington Robinson consists of seven eight-

line iambic pentameter stanzas, each rhyming in an abcbdefe scheme. The rhythm is steady, natural.

Structure continued• Alliteration: not a native near (line 6)• Metaphor: valiant armor of scarred hopes

(line 18, comparing a protective covering to desires)

• Metaphor: scarred hopes (line 18, comparing hopes to objects that can be marred or disfigured)

• Simile: He stood there . . . like Roland's ghost (lines 19-20, comparing Mr. Flood to a ghost)

• Metaphor: knowing that most things break (line 28, an implied comparison of the jug and other things to broken human beings)

• Alliteration: soon amid the silver• Metaphor: silver loneliness (line 45,

comparing loneliness to an object with a hue)

• Metaphor: two moons listening (line 47, comparing the moons to creatures that can hear)

• Alliteration: whole harmonious (line 48)• Alliteration: word wavered (line 50)

• .In each stanza, the second line rhymes with the fourth and the sixth with the eighth. The meter is iambic pentameter, with ten syllables (or four feet) per line. An iambic foot consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The first four lines of the poem demonstrate the metric pattern.

....1................2...................3................4.................5Old E..|..ben FLOOD,..|..climb ING..|..a LONG..|..one NIGHT ....1...............2.................3................4.................5Ov ER..|..the HILL..|..be TWEEN..|..the TOWN..|..be LOW .....1................2.............3................4................5And THE..|..for SA..|..ken UP..|..land HERM..|..i TAGE......1..................2...............3..............4.................5That HELD..|..as MUCH..|..as HE..|..should EV..|..er KNOW

Vocabulary

• Hermitage- hideaway• Warily- untrue alone• Native- people• Leisure-fun• Harvest moon- full moon in the beginning Autumn • Huskily- a hoarse voice• Enduring- continuing or long lasting• Convivially-Fond of feasting, drinking, and good company• acquiescent quaver-agreement without protest in a quivering voice• auld lang syne-is the song that plays at New Years!!!!! but I don't think

the poem is actually on new years, he's just thinking of past times and is very drunk

-Harvest moon

-Valiant Armor

Information on poem

• Mr. Floods party is written by Edwin Arlington Robinson

• It was published on Nov. 24 1920 by The Nation Magazine

• Tilsbury town is the fictional town based on Robinsons hometown of Gardiner, Maine

• The poem takes place between Tilsbury town and Mr. Floods house

• Tilbury Town, a community modeled on Robinson’s hometown of Gardiner, Maine

Tilsbury Town

Stanza 1

• The poem takes place between the fictional location of tilsbury town and mr.floods house, the main character eben flood is making his way home after going into town to fill up his jug to get drunk as he has done many times before. It is just him alone as he makes his way up he talks only for himself to hear.

Stanza 2• In the second stanza Mr. flood converses with someone, Himself and saying

“well, Mr. Flood, we have the harvest moon again, and we may not have many more”. Eben flood reflects on himself questioning himself if he has produced anything worth harvesting.

• Mr. Flood goes on to say to himself “the bird is on the wing, the poet says, and you and I have said it here before. Drink to the bird.”– The bird on the wing is from The Rubaiyat, a poem written by Omar

Khayyam in which the bird represents time that stops for no man.• Mr. flood proceeds to convince himself to take a swig from the jug.

Stanza 3• In the beginning of the third stanza Mr. Flood stands alone with armor

fashioned by Floods hopes and dreams that he has taken into battles with life hopes that have been scarred by combat with life before he could fulfill them, hopes that have now faded with the passage of time.

• Flood stands in the middle of the road referring to flood as Roland's Ghost winding a silent horn.– Roland referring to The Song of Roland which is a French poem in which

Roland the tragic hero that centers on the battle of Roncesvalles in 778 between the forces of Charlemagne's in which Roland blows his horn for help to late because his soldiers are dead.

• Below flood in Tilsbury town he reminisces the days where friends had honored him but now a remembrance of memories remain and begin to leave slowly as flood closes his eyes.

Stanza 4

“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”• At the beginning of stanza 4 Eben flood treats the only thing he

has left with care, the jug that he has traveled so far to fill to drown out his sorrows knowing that most thing do leave him

Stanza 5

• In stanza five Eben flood begins to converse with himself going on to say “well, Mr. Flood, we have not met like this in a long time; and many a change has come to both of us.– By this point flood is beginning to become even more

drunk associating with himself welcoming him as if his binge drinking is all that welcomes him now. Flood convinces himself to take another drink from the jug convinced without protest.

Stanza 6

“Only a very little, Mr. Flood For auld lang syne. No more, sir; that will do.” So, for the time, apparently it did, And Eben evidently thought so too.

• In this point of the poem flood drinks and goes on to say “for auld lang syne” -(to the good old days) and with Mr. flood being reunited with his other self he burst into song with only the presence of two moons listening– “with only the presence of two moons listening” referring to his

impaired vision that makes old Eben flood see double

Stanza 7

• In stanza 7 flood once again drinks and but looks at himself and reflects that he is in a purgatory type of state where in front of him lies nothing and behind him lies doors that used to be open but have shut him out now.

Quiz

1. What’s the authors name?2. When and where was the author born?3. What university did he study in?4. What kind of structure does the poem have?5. What does Tilsbury town represent?6. What kind of poem is he known to write?7. What’s the rhyme scheme?8. What does huskily mean?9. What does the bird on the wing represent?10. What does “for auld Lang syne” mean?