Archibald's Example by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Name: Archibald's Example
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson

Old Archibald sits in his habitual chair, a place from which intruders are quickly driven away by his frown, and looks across a clover field toward his green hill. He recalls that the hill was once covered with trees that blocked and wounded the setting sun, making a cage of darkness around it. Though the trees have been gone for fifty years, he still sees them vividly and condemns them as crooked, useless thieves of light that served neither God nor man. He ordered them cut down, and he and Nature rejoiced at their removal. Archibald then suggests that men can resemble such trees, dismisses the comparison, and continues gazing toward the remembered site with a quiet, knowing twinkle.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1916 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, Character Study · 210 words

First lines

OLD ARCHIBALD, in his eternal chair, / Where trespassers, whatever their degree, / Were soon frowned out again, was looking off

Across the clover when he said to me:

"My green hill yonder, where the sun goes down

Without a scratch, was once inhabited

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Archibald's Example is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1916 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
Date: 1916 CE
Language: English
Genres: Narrative Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, Character Study, Satirical Poetry, Psychological Poetry
Length: 210 words
Structure: 1 section, 16 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Narrative Poetry — The poem presents a brief scene with a speaker, an observer, dialogue, setting, and a remembered action: Archibald's removal of trees that obstructed his view.
Dramatic Monologue — Much of the poem consists of Archibald's direct speech, which reveals his severe, controlling character through his opinions about the trees and his analogy between trees and men.
Character Study — The central purpose is to portray Old Archibald as an imperious, intolerant man whose treatment of the landscape suggests his attitude toward other people.
Satirical Poetry — The poem quietly mocks Archibald's self-righteous justification for destroying the trees, especially his claim that Nature and God-approved order support his private resentment.