Richard Cory

The Poet

Edwin Arling Robinson was born in Head Tide Maine on December 22nd, 1869. Aside from going to Harvard University for two years, he lived Gardiner, Maine until his late twenties, and then moved to New York City. There he had several jobs, and published some of his poetry. However, it did not gain much popularity. Robinson lived in poverty, and soon became depressed and a heavy drinker. In 1905, his luck turned around when President Theodore Roosevelt arranged for him to work at the New York Custom House after reading and enjoying his work The Children of the Night. He workerd there util 1909, and published more poetry in the years to come, which recieved greater reviews and popularity. He won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Poetry in 1929, and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his Collected Poems, The Man Who Died Twice, and Tristram. He continued to write and publish poetry up until his death on April 6th, 1935, in New York City.

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Richard Cory

Richard Cory

Meaning and Theme

The poem is told from the perspective of one of the townspeople who is not nearly as well-off as Richard Cory. While he/she and the others in town work hard each day and still live a poor lifestyle, Richard Cory is very wealthy, educated, and adored by everyone. Everyone in town believed that he had everything, and wished to be like him. However, despite all his riches and admiration from the townspeople, Cory is not as happy as most would think he is, and he commits suicide at the end of the poem.

One of the major themes in Richard Cory is "Money and admiration from others cannot buy happiness". Richard Cory is described as being "richer than a king" and is said to have "fluttered pulses when he said 'Good morning'", but these things were not enough to bring Cory meaning or satisfaction in his life. Another theme of the poem is "Appearances can be decieving" (English 3 textbook, page 714). Everybody in town must have thought that a man as well-off as Richard Cory must be living a great, happy life, and they wished that they could live like him. However, perhaps because of tradgedies in his personal life, the feeling of being isolated from the townspeople, or mental illness (Richard Cory, Stanza 4 Summary, Shmoop), Cory must have been miserable behind his perfect outward appearance.

Meaning and Theme

Literary Devices

Literary Devices

One of the literary devices used in Richard Cory are connotations, emotions and associations that have come to be connected to a word through its shared usage. Robinson uses words such as "crown" and "imperially" that have connotations associated with royalty, giving the audience the impression that every one in town views Cory as a king (English 3 Textbook, page 713). Another literary device used by Robinson is siuational irony, as the poem ends differently than what one would expect. Cory is desribed as being rich and well-loved all throughout the poem, making the reader think he must be happy, but he commits suicide in the last line. Finally, there are metaphors throughout the poem with the lines "he glittered when he walked" and "he was...richer than a king".

Literary Movement

Literary Movement

Richard Cory fits with the movement of Realism because it tells a story that ends unpleasantly, but provides a bold and real depiction of the protagonist, rather than an idealized one. The poem starts off with the townspeople admiring a seemingly perfect character, but shows that this glorified person is actually a depressed, ordinary man that eventually faces demise from whatever issues he was dealing with in his life, to which nobody else was aware.

My Impression of the Poem

My Impression

I enjoyed the poem, and it stuck out to me when I read it because of the suprising ending. It shows that just because it seems like someone is living a wonderful, perfect life, the reality of the situation can be extremely different. Our impression of others, especially those who appear happy on the outside, can often be wrong, as many people have to deal with their own demons that nobody else knows about. I also liked the rhyme scheme of the poem, and the way that Robinson used words with connotations of royalty to build up the townspeople's view of Cory as a sort of king, emphasizing how rich and well-loved he was, and then destroying that perfect image of him in the last line of the poem.