Luke Havergal (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
- First Published: 1897
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Suffering, Love or romance, Suicide, Sin or Original sin, Ghosts or apparitions, Antiheroes, Emotions, Fear, Death or dying, Hell, Bereavement or grief, Afterlife, Life and death
The Poem
“Luke Havergal” is a haunting poem of thirty-two lines about a desperately bereaved man being tempted by a voice from the grave to commit suicide in order to reunite with a beloved woman who is dead.
One of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s finest performances, “Luke Havergal” was a favorite of President Theodore Roosevelt, who, even though he promoted the poem and the poet’s career, found the contents of the poem to be obscure in meaning. Although Robinson by his own admission aimed “to put a little mysticism” in his verses, the morbid death-prone...
[The entire page is 1216 words long]
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