The Wise Brothers by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Name: The Wise Brothers
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson

“The Wise Brothers” presents three voices reflecting on a disastrous course. The first laments that, after drifting and running aground, the Wise Brothers have found only foam and ruin, and wonders whether heaven and earth were wrongly made for them to have arrived in such a condition. The second asks what accursed force guided them into this evil reckoning and, if their failure is complete, why they still look forward from defeat. The third voice introduces hope: though they have been blown far from harbors once in sight, perhaps by going far they may yet go right. Joined to the motion of the whirling spheres, the speakers ask whether they and all others possess more than what is immediately visible.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1920 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, Philosophical Poetry · 145 words

First lines

FIRST VOICE

SO long adrift, so fast aground, / What foam and ruin have we found -

We, the Wise Brothers?

Could heaven and earth be framed amiss, / That we should land in fine like this -

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The Wise Brothers is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1920 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
Date: 1920 CE
Language: English
Genres: Lyric Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, Philosophical Poetry, Symbolist Poetry, Existential Poetry
Length: 145 words
Structure: 1 section, 17 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Lyric Poetry — A short, highly compressed poetic work expressing collective doubt, defeat, and hope through three alternating voices.
Dramatic Monologue — The poem is structured as a sequence of distinct spoken voices, each addressing the shared predicament of the 'Wise Brothers.'
Philosophical Poetry — It meditates on fate, failure, human purpose, cosmic order, and the possibility of meaning beyond immediate appearances.
Symbolist Poetry — Its stranded-voyage imagery, harbors, foam, ruin, and whirling spheres operate as symbolic representations of spiritual and existential uncertainty.