The Clinging Vine by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Name: The Clinging Vine
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson

A woman, accused of being frantic, insists with bitter irony that she is calm and perfectly controlled. Speaking to a man who repeatedly tells her to be calm, she declares that she will not kill the other woman because that woman’s death is already visible in her face. She predicts that the man will soon leave this woman behind and sing for others like her. The speaker rejects his denials and protests, accusing him of calling her cruel while refusing to face what he has done. She says he would cling to his version of events even while holding her hand and departing. Though she admits she has spoken too sharply, she mocks his claim that she is morally beyond forgiveness, noting that he has told her so often that heaven itself should not blame her for her crimes. She grants him the apparent comfort of her defeat, saying that his own actions have extinguished the last light in her. If the other woman were the entire cause of her suffering, she says, she might submit and continue pretending to be what she despises; instead, she sees his laughter and assurances as lies. She wonders whether women are mad, and concludes that if most men resemble him, all women may become mad. She recounts a man who married because he could not see and bore the consequences throughout his life, contrasting him with this man, who came to her clear-sighted, found truth in her eyes, and answered all her wrongs with lies. He has destroyed the last assurance that could have revived her endurance. She refuses further argument, saying that more words can only damage what he has already killed. When he invokes pride, her name, and honor, she scorns his sudden tenderness. At last she says she is leaving, cold as ice. She rejects his offer to share her burden and forbids the sacrifice he proposes. She asks that nothing more be said, for the moon, stars, ocean, he, and she are all cold.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1916 · Genre: Dramatic Monologue, Lyric Poetry, Psychological Poetry · 770 words

First lines

"BE calm? And was I frantic?

You'll have me laughing soon.

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The Clinging Vine 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: Dramatic Monologue, Lyric Poetry, Psychological Poetry, Love Poetry, Tragic Poetry
Length: 770 words
Structure: 1 section, 66 paragraphs
Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)

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Similar titles

Genres

Dramatic Monologue — The poem consists almost entirely of one speaker's intensely personal, confrontational address to an implied listener, revealing character and conflict through speech.
Lyric Poetry — Its primary force is emotional and musical rather than plot-driven, expressing jealousy, despair, resentment, and emotional detachment in patterned verse.
Psychological Poetry — The speaker's unstable effort to appear calm exposes a disturbed inner life shaped by betrayal, anger, wounded pride, and obsessive suspicion.
Love Poetry — The central subject is a damaged intimate relationship, involving infidelity or romantic displacement, possessiveness, rejection, and the end of emotional trust.