Miniver Cheevy
Miniver Cheevy is a twentieth-century man who feels that he was born into the wrong era. He rues his modern life and bemoans the lack of greatness in his century. Inspired by stories of adventure and romance from the past, he spends a great deal of time dreaming of what no longer is. Stopping short of bringing his fantasies into reality like an American Alonso Quijano, Cheevy uses alcohol to cope.
The word "miniver" refers to a white fur worn originally by medieval nobles and used for robes of state. This name contributes to Robinson's use of irony in the poem.
Priam and his neighbors
In Greek mythology, Priam was the last king of Troy during the Trojan War. His love for his son Hector prompted him to ransom Hector's corpse from Achilles during the war. Achilles's own son, Neoptolemus, butchered the king on an altar when Troy fell. These two events were important themes in ancient art.
Priam's "neighbors" refer to the other characters in the myth: Hector, Helen, Paris, Cassandra, and so on.
Romance and Art
Romance and Art are personified in the poem as figures that Cheevy mourns. Romance is "now on the town" and Art is a "vagrant," signifying their departure from the times in which Cheevy lives. That the poet uses these terms to signify their absence reflects the ways in which Cheevy himself could be scorned as an outcast in society.
The Medici
The Medici were a powerful Italian bourgeois family that ruled Florence and later Tuscany for most of the period between 1434 and 1737. Originally immigrants from the countryside, the family amassed their wealth from the wool trade and in the banking business. They installed their members as popes and wed their lineage into elite families across Europe in order to extend their influence. Though they were great patrons of the arts (called the "Godfathers of the Renaissance"), some view them as political tyrants.
That Cheevy would have "sinned incessantly" to be a member of this family shows the lengths he would go to become powerful. This speaks to the corruptibility of power itself, reflected later in the poem when Cheevy scorns the very gold he seeks.
