The New Tenants by Edwin Arlington Robinson
The poem portrays a man confronting the failure of the defenses he has built to protect his triumph from unseen enemies. He finally sees these hidden foes calmly and persistently working to undermine what he has achieved, having been allowed to grow more destructive over time. They are compared to new tenants who have entered his house through doors carelessly left open and have become so settled there that their increasing vindictiveness foretells an even greater insolence.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1910 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Sonnet, Psychological Poetry · 138 words
First lines
THE DAY was here when it was his to know
How fared the barriers he had built between
His triumph and his enemies unseen, / For them to undermine and overthrow; / And it was his no longer to forego
The sight of them, insidious and serene, / Where they were delving always and had been
What this Textopian page supports
The New Tenants is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1910 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: 1910 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Sonnet, Psychological Poetry, Allegorical Poetry, Dark Poetry
- Length: 138 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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- Work identity for The New Tenants by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a concise, highly compressed poem focused on a single psychological situation and expressed through formal, image-rich verse.
- Sonnet — It consists of fourteen lines and follows a recognizable sonnet structure, using the form to develop a metaphorical crisis from realization to ominous conclusion.
- Psychological Poetry — The poem dramatizes an individual's awareness of inwardly destructive forces, presenting anxiety, vulnerability, and mental siege through symbolic imagery.
- Allegorical Poetry — The house, barriers, enemies, and tenants function as an extended allegory for hostile internal conditions or unchecked destructive influences.
Tags
poetry · American literature · early twentieth century · modernist poetry · English-language poetry · narrative verse · lyric poetry · mortality · death · transience · melancholy · alienation