Robinson, Edwin Arlington : Mr. Flood's Party

Literature Annotations

	On-Line Text
Genre	Poem
Keywords	Aging, Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, Loneliness, Mental Illness, Society, Suffering
Summary	One night Old Eben Flood is climbing the hill from town to his home. At one point he stops and invites himself to take a drink from the jug he went to town to fill. As he walks the lonely road, he continues to talk to himself, inviting himself to have a drink in honor of his return, and for old time's sake, for "There was not much that was ahead of him, / And there was nothing in the town below -- / Where strangers would have shut the many doors / That many friends had opened long ago."
Commentary	This poignant poem evokes an elderly "burned-out" man taking refuge in alcohol. Perhaps he was ignored or abused in the town; perhaps his friends have all died. Desperate for companionship, he has only himself and his jug of liquor. The poem speaks to the loneliness of aging without friends or family.
Source	Selected Poems of Edwin Arlington Robinson
Publisher	Macmillan
Edition	1965
Editors	Morton Dauwen Zabel
Place Published	London
Miscellaneous	First published: 1921
Annotated by	Coulehan, Jack
Date of Entry	06/24/94
Last Revised	01/10/07