Isolation And Happiness In Edwin Arlington Robinson's Richard Cory

The speaker of the poem recounts that Richard Cory was a “gentleman from sole to crown, clean favored, and imperially slim” and that he was “richer than a king”. The words “crown”, “imperially”, and “king” hints that people viewed Richard Cory as a man of high status and royalty. Even though he was a man who was unlike any other, “he was always human when

This ironic event shows that Richard Cory did not have such an ecstatic, extraordinary life as the townspeople

He seems to glitter as he moves among them. Not only is Cory handsome and fine; he is rich and genteel, “admirably schooled in every grace,” knowing all the social graces, a true aristocrat. Yet this seeming perfection and the townspeople’s lack of money, social background, and social skills create a distance between Cory and the others. They see him as a model of what they have been denied: “we thought that he was everything/

This infers that Richard Cory is lowering himself, to the level of the townspeople when he comes into town; they stood on the “pavement” looking at him. Robinson indicates royalty “He was a gentleman from sole to crown,” (3) the word Crown, is an indicator of supremacy the people see him as solely wealthy “rich” which is a word later used in the poem. There are several royal connotations and images in this poem including: “sole to crown,” “imperially slim,” these are signs of richness, his name alone indicates wealth “Richard” derived from the word “Rich”. Thus, in the first physical descriptive stanza,

Richard Cory written by Edwin Robinson was taken from the point of view of the townspeople around him. They make him out to be this rich, happy, and admirable man. “In fine, we thought that he was everything. To make us wish that we were in his place.” To everyone in the town, he seemed like a great guy; someone everyone wanted to be. They distanced themselves from him though, put him on a pedestal. The town says

“Richard Cory” written by Edwin Arlington Robinson is about a man who appears to be admirable on the exterior but no one is familiar with his interior, which is suffering badly. The narrator talks Richard Cory up by stating, he was "richer than a king,"(line 9) "admirably schooled,"(line 10) "we thought that he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place."(lines 11-12) Until an abrupt ending to the poem, "one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head."(lines 15-16) This poem makes one think about true happiness and what it entails. From the outside one may appear to have everything but happiness does not come from wealth, it comes from within ones self and the narrator didn't take the time to really get to

Authors often use fictional stories to explain situations in the real world. As a result, citizens are able to better understand the problems of society, and they are more likely to fix them. This is evident in Edwin Robinson’s poem, “Richard Cory.” Due to the author’s use of literary devices and details in this piece of literature, he portrays Richard Cory as a successful man. By the end of the poem, he becomes depressed and commits suicide. This expresses the idea that looks, money, and intelligence might seem to create happiness, but these things do not always allow individuals to enjoy life.

It is ironic how the people of down-town portrayed Richard Cory. They presumed, “he was everything/ To make us wish that we were in his place.” (Line 11-12). This great example of alliteration helps explain the fact he was viewed as the luckiest guy around. His life ended suddenly from a gun trigger pulled by himself. The way Cory’s death is described is situationally ironic. “One calm summer night” (15) is the day Cory chose to end his life. There is nothing calm about a suicide, and summer nights are generally known to be the best times of the year. The people of down town “worked, and waited for the light,” (13) waiting for their lives to get better. This great use of metaphor and alliteration helps convey the idea the people supposed they were enduring difficult times when in fact, Cory was dying from the inside out. They believed, “he glittered when he walked.” (8) and viewed him as if he were a sunshine hovering below the sun, when in reality, inside he felt like a cloudy storm. Happiness does not have a price tag and the people of down-town now understand that.

Robinson gives a physical description of Richard Cory as "Clean favored, and imperially slim." While this seems to be physical, many symbolic issues of wealth are expressed through this line. Cory is once again given a description of royalty by being called "imperially slim" and by also being "clean favored" he seems he may be above all else or at least that aura was personified. In Simon's poem, rather than royal traits, Cory is given characteristics of being "everything a man could want: power, grace, and style." These traits move from a regal standpoint, to one usually associated with famous, sophisticated people. This repositioning of the American Dream is apparent after evaluating the way wealth transformed the way the public viewed Richard Cory.

The poem “Richard Cory” is a description and story of a man named Richard Cory, of course. The speaker of the poem is an impoverished, blue-collar

He was a symbolize of the upper class in society. Nevertheless, by a contrast, in the song “Richard Cory”, he was “a banker’s only son” (Simon & Garfunkel, 3), he “at the opera” “at show” and “the rumor of his parties and the orgies on his yacht” (Simon & Garfunkel,13-14). Richard Cory in the poem showed

Starting off the poem, Robinson demonstrates to us that he as well, regards this man, as “put together” and “having everything going for them.” With the use of his literary devices, he accomplished to get the readers set on the fact that there could not possibly be anything wrong with Cory. However, it all changes when Robinson changes his tone. With the shift of his tone, followed the shift of his perspective. This situation impacts the reader gradually because it staggers us. We have gotten so accustomed to judging people and assuming something, without even knowing anything about them. “In fine, we thought that he was everything, to make us wish that we were in his place, So on we worked, and waited for the light, and went without the meat, and cursed the bread; and Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head(lines 11-16).” The importance in these lines, is that the perspective that the author gives, goes from viewing him as a king, to someone very lonely.

In the second stanza, the narrator portrays Richard Cory as a generous and down-to-earth person. The line, “And he was always human when he talked” (Robinson) suggests that the people on the pavement are puzzled considering the fact that despite being wealthy, Richard Cory is not narcissistic, nor hostile towards them. The last two lines of the second stanza further clarify the primary conflict of the poem by divulging the impressions of the poor townspeople towards Richard Cory. The lines also display Richard Cory’s effort and struggle to become friendly and casual with the poor townspeople. The third stanza, unlike the previous stanzas, emphasizes Cory’s class difference with the common people. The narrator makes a distinction between Richard Cory and townspeople by describing the amount of wealth he has in his possession. Richard Cory’s wealth is thoroughly described in the first line of the third stanza, where the narrator says, “And he was rich—yes, richer than a king” (Robinson). From this line, the readers can assume that Richard Cory was the richest man in the town, as the narrator hyperbolically compares Cory to a

In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s “Richard Cory”a normal guy is seen. The eyes can deceive us though. The theme we see is that wealth cannot buy happiness. When someone seems like an everyday person it might not be true. ”And he was always human when he talked.”

In the poem Robinson uses situational irony to make people think that Richard Cory had everything in he’s life. In the poem it mentions “we thought that he was everything.” This explains how people think of Richard Cory since he was richer than a king, he glitter when he walked and he was a gentleman from sole to crown. It also states in the poem “To make us wish that we were on his place.” This describes how Cory made people feel to wish they were on his place but to also make them wish they had Richard Cory’s life. As Robinson continues to create a jealousy feelings towards Cory, there is still something not right. The author describes “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head.” This reveals how having a perfect life still did not made Richard Cory a happy person. There for money buys everything but except for happiness. Finally, Robinson uses situational irony in he’s poem which is to make people wish that they had Richard Cory’s life and by Cory putting a bullet through his head he also uses situational irony to gets a message across of Cory’s life. Richard Cory have a wonderful life but in the inside it’s