Caput Mortuum by Edwin Arlington Robinson
The speaker recalls an unnamed man who came uncalled to share his fire one night and who nevertheless seemed uniquely fitting, welcome, and useful. Though the visitor had no gold, he repaid hospitality with abundant “golden rhyme,” poetry of an older kind. His personal defeat and the debt associated with him appear obsolete, yet they belong to the enduring risk of art, in which no one can decide whether his efforts will bring victory or loss.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1897 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Sonnet, Literary Poetry · 145 words
First lines
NOT even if with a wizard force I might
Have summoned whomsoever I would name, / Should anyone else have come than he who came, / Uncalled, to share with me my fire that night; / For though I should have said that all was right,
Or right enough, nothing had been the same
As when I found him there before the flame, / Always a welcome and a useful sight.
What this Textopian page supports
Caput Mortuum is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1897 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: 1897 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Sonnet, Literary Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Elegiac Poetry
- Length: 145 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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- Work identity for Caput Mortuum by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a compact, first-person poetic meditation focused on a personal encounter, emotional reflection, and resonant imagery rather than narrative plot.
- Sonnet — It consists of fourteen lines and follows a structured, rhyme-driven sonnet form, using the traditional form to develop a reflective argument about companionship, artistic failure, and fate.
- Literary Poetry — Its elevated diction, formal meter, intricate syntax, allusions to art and poetic tradition, and philosophical closure place it firmly within literary poetry.
- Philosophical Poetry — The concluding lines contemplate artistic uncertainty and the inability of any artist to determine whether labor will lead to success or defeat.
Tags
poetry · American literature · early twentieth century · modern poetry · lyric poetry · dramatic monologue · psychological insight · melancholy · isolation · disillusionment · mortality · spiritual doubt