The Old King's New Jester
The poem addresses those who resist an approaching order while recognizing that the old one has become dust. It urges them to accept change rather than seek refuge in familiar injustices merely because they once seemed right. The speaker reflects that earlier generations may have suppressed what was new and later felt regret for their outdated ways. Though the future state remains distant and unclear, forces greater than individuals drive humanity onward together, without revealing how far or how swiftly each person will go. Those troubled by the vanished glamour of an old wrong are advised to grant the new wrong its place, since longing too intensely for what cannot return may disturb their remaining content.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1920 · Genre: Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Social Commentary · 298 words
First lines
YOU that in vain would front the coming order
With eyes that meet forlornly what they must, / And only with a furtive recognition
See dust where there is dust, -
Be sure you like it always in your faces,
What this Textopian page supports
The Old King's New Jester is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1920 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: 1920 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Social Commentary, Political Poetry, Satirical Poetry
- Length: 298 words
- Structure: 1 section, 26 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Old King's New Jester by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is a lyric poem composed in measured stanzas, using figurative language, rhyme, rhythmic phrasing, and compressed argument.
- Philosophical Poetry — It meditates on historical change, inevitability, human agency, moral uncertainty, and the tension between inherited values and emerging social orders.
- Social Commentary — The poem addresses collective resistance to change and examines how societies rationalize old injustices while accepting new ones.
- Political Poetry — Its references to the 'coming order,' an 'unbuilded State,' fathers, power, and public wrongdoing give it a broad political and civic dimension.
Tags
poetry · narrative poem · dramatic monologue · literary fiction · medieval setting · courtly life · kingship · jesters · satire · irony · melancholy · psychological insight