The Story of the Ashes and the Flame
A man remains devoted to a woman who has fled, regardless of what she was, what others say of her, or whether she has been faithful. Since her departure, he has tried to lose himself in books, yet he can read only his own recurring story of loss and desire. He imagines her soon returning with frightened, repentant eyes that also hold a mocking lunar laughter for disappointed lovers, and he is ready to believe that her kisses will restore him to Paradise.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1910 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Psychological Poetry · 145 words
First lines
NO matter why, nor whence, nor when she came, / There was her place. No matter what men said, / No matter what she was; living or dead, / Faithful or not, he loved her all the same.
The story was as old as human shame,
But ever since that lonely night she fled, / With books to blind him, he had only read
The story of the ashes and the flame.
What this Textopian page supports
The Story of the Ashes and the Flame 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, Love Poetry, Psychological Poetry, Tragic Poetry, Dramatic Monologue
- Length: 145 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Story of the Ashes and the Flame by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a compact, highly musical sonnet-like poem focused on a speaker's emotional state rather than narrative development.
- Love Poetry — Its central subject is a man's enduring, irrational love for a woman who has fled him and may have betrayed him.
- Psychological Poetry — The poem examines obsession, self-deception, memory, and the lover's imagined vision of reconciliation.
- Tragic Poetry — The speaker's attachment is shadowed by abandonment, shame, uncertainty, and a painful inability to escape his old story.
Tags
poetry · narrative verse · American literature · modernist poetry · symbolism · love · loss · memory · death · grief · desire · disillusionment