Presenting Robinson as both a man and a poet, "with some emphasis on the split between the two," the book delves deeply into Robinson's life and works, brilliantly characterizes the era and the region to which he belonged, and reveals how Robinson obeyed yet transcended the exigencies of both, as well as those of his personal heritage and experience. The author surveys the entire canon of Robinson's poetry, from the earliest works, the masterful vignettes, through the Arthurian poems on to the last poems, the long narratives such as "Amarinth" and "King Jasper." The book offers enriching new perspectives on both Robinson and his poetry and a new understanding of his poetic vision: "What he saw, he saw steadily . . . what often redeems a flawed poem and ensures a sound one is his awareness of other people and his Wordsworthian conviction that the poet was only a man like other men, but in a particular way, more so. The more so is what counts."