Afterthoughts by Edwin Arlington Robinson
“Afterthoughts” recalls a parting beneath an old gas-lamp and a maple, after which the speaker and another man walk into darkness as they have often done. The man unexpectedly returns to say something of little apparent importance, yet the speaker later recognizes that he possessed a worth beyond what many celebrated people attain. His words contain no grand or mysterious revelation, but they seem closer to the sublime because of their quiet human significance. He then leaves again by the old way, unaware that it will be his last departure.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1896 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Elegiac Poetry · 144 words
First lines
WE parted where the old gas-lamp still burned
Under the wayside maple and walked on, / Into the dark, as we had always done; / And I, no doubt, if he had not returned, / Might yet be unaware that he had earned
More than earth gives to many who have won
More than it has to give when they are gone -
What this Textopian page supports
Afterthoughts is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1896 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Date: 1896 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Elegiac Poetry, Sonnet, Reflective Poetry
- Length: 144 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for Afterthoughts by Edwin Arlington Robinson
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a compact, first-person poetic meditation centered on a remembered encounter and the speaker's inward emotional response.
- Narrative Poetry — It recounts a brief but consequential event: the speaker and another man part, the man returns to speak, and later departs unknowingly for the final time.
- Elegiac Poetry — Its retrospective tone, emphasis on a last meeting, and recognition of the other man's unappreciated worth give it the character of a restrained elegy.
- Sonnet — The poem consists of fourteen lines and employs a tightly organized, rhymed form characteristic of an English-style sonnet, though with an individual rhyme pattern.
Tags
poetry · lyric poetry · American literature · late nineteenth century · melancholy · isolation · mortality · love · loss · disillusionment · introspection · human nature