"Richard Cory"
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3 word format
document in English
literature
school essay
published 18/08/2007
review : Completed
level : Advanced
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Summary
In Edwin Arlington Robinson's short poem "Richard Cory," the speaker tells of a rich gentleman who, to the collective shock of the community, commits suicide for unknown reasons. The poem begins by describing this gentleman, Richard Cory, as slim, graceful, and friendly. Even though he is much richer than the rest of the community, he is always personable and speaks nicely to the common townspeople. The speaker describes Cory as nicely but humbly dressed; however he still has some innate quality about him that makes him appear to sparkle in the eyes of the town. Because of this, the townsfolk always watch him with awe whenever they see him. Cory is obviously well liked and admired by the whole community, who apparently think he has the perfect life. They envy him so much, in fact, that they come to resent their own situations in life; they work long hard hours, but they still cannot even afford to buy decent food for their families. Cory's suicide is told at the very end of the poem in only two lines, and is as much of a shock to the reader as it must have been to the town.
Table of Contents
- On the surface, the speaker seems to simply be one of the poor, working-class townspeople.
- The speaker's tone in Richard Cory is calm and unemotional, while at the same time ironic, reflective and possibly even regretful
- Several words and phrases in this poem carry more meaning than their definitions denote
- Another revealing phrase appears in the second line of the third stanza, where Cory is said to be admirably schooled in every grace
- Wording is also important at the very end of the poem when the speaker describes Cory's death
- Although it is relatively short, containing only four quatrains, Robinson's Richard Cory is a powerful poem
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