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.
Notes
Composition date is unknown - the above date represents the first publication date.
The lyrical form of this poem is abab.
11. Thebes: Greek city on the Nile.
Camelot: the mythical city of King Arthur's court.
12. Priam: king of Troy, father of Aeneus (founder of Rome)
and killed in the seven years' war with the Greek at Troy.
17. Medici: rulers of Renaissance Florence known for
both a love of scholarship and art, and a penchant for
a pitiless use of power.
22. a khaki suit: a military uniform, coloured yellow-brown.
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Comments
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It's much easier to assign blame than to accept it. An idealist, Cheevy's excuse for his failure is that the age he is born to is less than he'd wish it to be. He's a dreamer, and his excuse for that failure is a mere rationalization.
I believe Robinson suggests Miniver's on the dole:
"He mourned Romance, now on the town,"
Miniver finds the need to work for his money, crass, or so he again rationalizes:
"Miniver scorned the gold he sought,
But sore annoyed was he without it;"
We smile, or rather smirk knowingly as we read the poem; Robinson's satirical wit and irony assumes the reader is his confidante, and we all shake our heads at Cheevy's plight.
Maybe Miniver is Robinson himself, maybe he saw himself as a romantic, lost in the past, or indulging in trivial things, I don't know, but it would not be unusual for one to question how they are living their lives, especially poets, who, I would imagine are sometimes thought of as dreamers and Idealists by those around them.
Miniver Cheevy is a poem about inaction:
"Miniver sighed for what was not,
And dreamed, and rested from his labors"
and there are at least two other references to his inaction (in stanzas seven and eight.)
While Miniver mourns what was not, he just keeps on drinking. A better man might wake up, but not Cheevy, dreaming is both his work and his avocation. I read somewhere once that possibly Robinson meant "Minimum Achiever" when he titled his poem, Miniver Cheevy, I don't know about that but it's an interesting side note.
There is a heavy tone of irony and yet still a measure of pity for Miniver and his escape from reality, for though we laugh at his notions and his escapism, Robinson in the end shows us a measure of remorse for Miniver:
"Miniver coughed, and called it fate,
And kept on drinking."
I think Robinson is suggesting that it is possible to laugh with scorn at the absurdity of Cheevy's pretentiousness and still have compassion for his ultimate fate.
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A very moving poem to open the eyes of people who see them as \"children of
I believe this poem reflects the helpless drunkards, the down & out, the homeless, the outcasts of our society, people of "scorn" who wished they had "never been born." I thank God we live in a society that lends a helping hand to these wayward souls. God bless them everyone...
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