The Growth of "Lorraine"
Lorraine tells the silent narrator that some beings are born fortunate while others are destined to be defeated and enslaved. Believing herself among the latter, she rejects the possibility of a contented, ordinary life, saying she lacks the qualities that might have enabled other girls to endure it. She declares that she is going “to the devil” and leaves. Later, the narrator receives a letter from Lorraine, who says she will be dead by the time it is read. She explains that the narrator is too far away to stop her and that, although one drop would suffice, she will take five. Calling the narrator her friend, she says that even while impenitent, ill, and shattered, she cannot curse the love that will finally put her worn and rejected body to sleep.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1896 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Tragic Poetry, Dramatic Monologue · 330 words
First lines
WHILE I stood listening, discreetly dumb, / Lorraine was having the last word with me:
"I know," she said, "I know it, but you see
What this Textopian page supports
The Growth of "Lorraine" is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1896 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: 1896 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Tragic Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, Psychological Poetry, Social Realist Poetry
- Length: 330 words
- Structure: 1 section, 21 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Growth of "Lorraine" by Edwin Arlington Robinson
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Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The work tells a compact, sequential story through Lorraine's final conversation, her departure, and a later suicide letter.
- Tragic Poetry — Its plot culminates in Lorraine's self-destruction, with her perceived helplessness, social defeat, and emotional exhaustion producing an unmistakably tragic outcome.
- Dramatic Monologue — Lorraine's character is revealed chiefly through her direct speech and letter, both addressed to an implied listener whose responses are largely absent.
- Psychological Poetry — The poem closely examines Lorraine's fatalistic self-conception, despair, alienation, and conviction that she lacks the capacity to live conventionally.
Tags
poetry · American literature · early twentieth century · narrative poem · character study · psychological portrait · irony · social criticism · small-town life · ambition · disillusionment · identity