Where a faint light shines alone,
Dwells a Demon I have known.
Most of you had better say
“The Dark House,” and go your way.
Do not wonder if I stay.

For I know the Demon’s eyes
And their lure that never dies.
Banish all your fond alarms,
For I know the foiling charms
Of her eyes and of her arms,

And I know that in one room
Burns a lamp as in a tomb;
And I see the shadow glide,
Back and forth, of one denied
Power to find herself outside.

There he is who was my friend,
Damned, he fancies, to the end–
Vanquished, ever since a door
Closed, he thought, for evermore
On the life that was before.

And the friend who knows him best
Sees him as he sees the rest
Who are striving to be wise
While a Demon’s arms and eyes
Hold them as a web would flies.

All the words of all the world,
Aimed together, and then hurled,
Would be stiller in his ears
Than a closing of still shears
On a thread made out of years.

But there lives another sound,
More compelling, more profound;
There’s a music, so it seems,
That assuages and redeems,
More than reason, more than dreams.

There’s a music yet unheard
By the creature of the word,
Though it matters little more
Than a wave-wash on the shore–
Till a Demon shuts a door.

So, if he be very still
With his Demon, and one will,
Murmurs of it may be blown
To my friend who is alone
In a room that I have known.

After that from everywhere
Singing life will find him there;
And my friend, again outside,
Will be living, having died.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem The Dark House

4 Comments

  1. Gia says:

    I to think it seems like Edgar’s type of writing. I think you undesand much about death and demons for you to write such a strong poem. I really enjoyed it cause these kinds of things catch my eye!

  2. Steven says:

    Hm… This poem strikes me as Edwin writing about a former love (or perhaps lust) of his, that he has finally been able to break free of, and he is now watching his friend fall into the same hopeless pining.

    Especially the lines

    “All the words of all the world,
    Aimed together, and then hurled,
    Would be stiller in his ears
    Than a closing of still shears
    On a thread made out of years.”

    Seem to convey that his friend has now become a lost cause, deaf to the (though however true) warnings of his friends against the Demon (or woman).

  3. Kelly says:

    i agree with jordan; it reminds me of poe’s poetry. i like it.

  4. Jordan says:

    it is very dark. it reminds me of some of edgar allen poe’s poetry. I like it.

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