Reuben Bright by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Reuben Bright is an honest butcher whose wife is dying. Though his work might make others think him brutal, he is overcome with grief and terror when he learns she must die, crying through much of the night and moving the women around him to tears. After her death, he pays those involved in her burial, packs her handmade possessions sadly into an old chest with chopped cedar boughs, and then rushes back to the slaughter-house.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1897 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Tragedy, Elegy · 148 words
First lines
BECAUSE he was a butcher and thereby
Did earn an honest living (and did right), / I would not have you think that Reuben Bright
Was any more a brute than you or I; / For when they told him that his wife must die,
He stared at them, and shook with grief and fright, / And cried like a great baby half that night, / And made the women cry to see him cry.
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Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The work tells a complete, compact story about Reuben Bright's response to his wife's fatal illness and death through rhymed verse.
- Tragedy — Its central action is the death of Reuben's wife and his overwhelming grief, ending with his return to the slaughterhouse.
- Elegy — The poem functions as a concise mourning poem, focusing on bereavement, funeral arrangements, preserved possessions, and remembrance of the dead wife.
- Dramatic Monologue — An unnamed speaker directly addresses the reader and interprets Reuben's character and behavior, creating a speaker-mediated portrait.
Tags
poetry · narrative poem · grief · bereavement · marital love · death · mourning · loss · blacksmith · rural life · New England · isolation
What this Textopian page supports
Reuben Bright 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: Narrative Poetry, Tragedy, Elegy, Dramatic Monologue, Character Sketch
- Length: 148 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Reuben Bright by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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