London Bridge by Edwin Arlington Robinson
In “London Bridge,” a husband and wife argue while their children sing overhead. The wife is disturbed by the singing, hears it as an inescapable heavenly or terrible music, and reveals that she has met a man from her past whom she still loves. Her husband responds with sarcasm, contempt, jealousy, and threats, treating her confession as an old infatuation that should vanish if exposed. The wife accuses him of possessing her rather than understanding her, of starving her emotional life, and of teaching her how little value he has found in her. She says that marriage to him has forced her to suppress what she cared for, while he mocks her language, her feelings, and the man she met. She wonders whether a life of self-denial will ever make her stronger, and challenges the hollow values of wealth, social standing, religion, and marriage. Their conflict becomes increasingly dangerous. The husband curses the children, and the wife taunts him to act if he intends violence. She calls herself a prophet who can already see the end of their endurance and their illusions, yet she urges him to look farther for some possible release. Even amid their emotional collapse, she reminds him of their many invitations and insists that they must attend a dance that night, shining and behaving like “merry spectres” amid the ruins of their lies. After he puts something back and shuts a drawer, she tells him not to cancel anything and says she will dance until she drops. Unable yet to walk, she asks him to leave her alone, while the children’s singing continues to torment her.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1916 · Genre: Dramatic Poetry, Verse Drama, Psychological Drama · 2,248 words
First lines
"Do I hear them? Yes, I hear the children singing - and what of it?
Have you come with eyes afire to find me now and ask me that?
What this Textopian page supports
London Bridge is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1916 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: 1916 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Dramatic Poetry, Verse Drama, Psychological Drama, Domestic Tragedy, Modernist Poetry
- Length: 2,248 words
- Structure: 1 section, 112 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for London Bridge by Edwin Arlington Robinson
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Genres
- Dramatic Poetry — The work is structured entirely as an intense confrontation between husband and wife, using dialogue, escalating conflict, and implied stage action rather than conventional lyric narration.
- Verse Drama — Its sustained scene, distinct speakers, theatrical pacing, references to physical gestures, and climactic domestic crisis give the poem the form and effect of a compact drama written in verse.
- Psychological Drama — The central action is psychological: the speakers expose repression, marital resentment, jealousy, despair, emotional cruelty, and the wife's apparent mental collapse.
- Domestic Tragedy — The poem depicts a marriage poisoned by domination, emotional deprivation, social performance, and intimations of violence or suicide, producing a tragic vision of private life.
Tags
poetry · American literature · early modernism · early twentieth century · lyric poetry · dramatic monologue · psychological insight · melancholy · isolation · alienation · mortality · disillusionment