Demos by Edwin Arlington Robinson
The speaker warns those enamored of his name that their desires do not yet accord with his purpose. They may blindly lose the gift he brings, mistaking noisy hopes of deliverance for real vision. Some among them are fit to lead and to be led, but these figures remain unheard amid public wrangling and shrill excitement. The speaker foresees a confused democracy, distorted by envy-producing equality, approaching the rule of an old king and the rise of noisy new lords. He urges them to preserve their kingdom’s honor, to recognize greatness rather than diminish it, and to heed the silent few whose wisdom alone may save the many from ruinous contention.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1897 · Genre: Political Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Sonnet · 262 words
First lines
ALL you that are enamored of my name
And least intent on what most I require, / Beware; for my design and your desire, / Deplorably, are not as yet the same.
Beware, I say, the failure and the shame
Of losing that for which you now aspire
What this Textopian page supports
Demos 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: Political Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Sonnet, Philosophical Poetry, Social Commentary
- Length: 262 words
- Structure: 1 section, 24 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Demos by Edwin Arlington Robinson
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Genres
- Political Poetry — The two sonnets directly address democracy, equality, popular agitation, leadership, monarchy, and the dangers facing a democratic public.
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a compact, rhetorically intense poetic address centered on a speaker's warning, judgment, and political vision rather than narrative action.
- Sonnet — Each section is a fourteen-line poem employing the formal structure, concentrated argument, and patterned rhyme associated with the English sonnet tradition.
- Philosophical Poetry — It meditates on the paradoxes of freedom, equality, collective responsibility, authority, and the relationship between the exceptional few and the many.
Tags
poetry · American literature · modernist poetry · dramatic monologue · psychological insight · melancholy · isolation · mortality · social observation · individualism · disillusionment · human nature