Richard Cory, by Edwin Arlington Robinson Essay

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

In “Richard Cory” People look at him with awe and envy. His very presence turns people’s heads and they are happy to see him. He gave off an aura that is almost intimidating to those around him, “he glittered when he walked” (Robinson “Richard Cory” line 8) not scary intimidating but it made them scared to talk to him. Richard has all that he needs but he still isolates himself from everyone. It is unknown what made him so unhappy other that just isolation from everyone. Because of all of this, one night he “went home and put a bullet through his head” (Robinson “Richard Cory” line 12). In the poem “Not Waving but Drowning”, he is a man amongst people. Who is a happy guy who “always loves larking” (Smith line 5). He seems to always be happy but not a person paid very close attention to him. He has a false happiness about him. He is really all alone and we do not notice that he is “Not Waving but Drowning”. Both Richard and the “dead man” (Smith line 1) are examples of imposed isolation. They are bot chosen by isolation and it costs them both their lives.

Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy, both are shunned from society neither having any real friends. Richard Cory is admired by his peers, whereas, Miniver Cheevy is different; people did not look up on him. One man giving the impression to have everything takes his own life, while the other had nothing accepts his misery. For Richard Cory, the saying money cannot buy happiness, could not be more appropriate. He is, according to the people of the town, the man with everything. “Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

Little did they know, that this man was not as happy, as everyone perceived him to be. One calm summer night Richard Cory put a bullet through his head.

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

The poem had been made up of three stanzas describe the subject and the fourth stanza which give the reader a shock with Cory’s act of suicide. The poem contain the use of rich languages. The narrator doesn’t used rhythmical devices, no simile, no symbolism, and no metaphor but contains rich words with character. “Went down town” indicate a different neighborhood, he seems to live in a wealthy neighborhood. The main characteristic of this poem is the differences between the wealthy and the less-well-off. There is a distinction that shows the comparison between “Us” and “Him”. “We people on the pavement looked at him” shows clearly the comparison between the lower class and the upper class. This poem shows a sensory experience rather than vivid image that you can visualize. I think this poem is trying to show is that money is not everything, you may be wealthy but you are lonely and sad or even sick. Richard Cory seems that he doesn’t show his emotions and at the some point he couldn’t hold it and decided to end his life. What we can take from this poem is that appearance is deceiving but looking at the picture closely we can find much more than we think. It rhythm flows, it shows the human characteristic and express all this while being literal without any metaphor or

Richard elects for a physical death as a means to free himself and Clarissa from his illness. Like Laura, he views the sum of his life's work as completely unsuccessful. He feels as if he has wasted precious time writing about things that are not important to his society. Suicide is never far from his mind, because for him death represents the chance to finally make a decision that will have the significant benefit of ending both his and Clarissa's suffering. Really, his suicide signifies an end to a death that has been occurring for along period time. In his death, Richard finds ultimate freedom: "He seems so certain, so serene . . . . He lies where he fell, face down, the robe thrown up over his head and his bare legs exposed, white against the dark concrete" (200). Finally, Richard exposes all of his inner feelings and thoughts through this act; he no longer masquerades them in the guise of a literary work. Now, others can understand the magnitude of his interior conflicts, and that he does not

"Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson, and "Warren Prior" by Alden Nowlan are both poems which discuss the unhappiness people tend to hide about themselves. In these poems, irony is used to show how each persona is deeply unsatisfied with the circumstances they face although appearing different to their peers. To begin with, "Richard Cory" is about a man named Richard Cory who is notorious for being wealthy and seemingly has the type of lifestyle others would envy. However, what was seen on the surface was deceiving, because at the end of the poem we learn that Cory commits suicide. Likewise, "Warren Prior" is about a male who grew up on a farm where his parents worked extremely hard in order to be able to afford an education for their

While reading the poems “Richard Cory” and “Ezra Farmer”, it is almost immediately evident which poem is an original and which is a parody. Both poems are clearly about men that are popular among those he meets, but once the reader looks beneath the surface, they notice how the diction plays an important role in relaying the theme to the audience it is presented to. In the poem “Richard Cory” written by Edwin Arlington Robinson, the theme being portrayed is that people are not always as how they seem.

In 1897, Edwin Arlington Robinson composed the poem Richard Cory. The important message of the poem was beneficial to readers centuries ago and is equally as valuable today. Robinson does a great job of utilizing various literary devices to convey this knowledge and enhance the pleasure of the reading. The superficial appearance of an individual does not define their reality.

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 second main poetic device used by Robinson is irony. The apparent irony in the poem is the fact that Richard Cory killed himself. As I have discussed before, Richard Cory was this guy who had all of the things anyone could ask for. He had good-looks, money, intelligence, and was, for the most part, liked by everyone. The irony comes when the reader realizes that the majority of people would be unbelievably happy with this life. It is extremely appalling and ironic that Richard Cory could kill himself with this seemingly perfect life. The second piece of irony stems from the first. It is not necessarily the fact that

In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poems, “Richard Cory” and “Miniver Cheevy” the main characters are portrayed as outcasts. Both are shunned from society neither having any real friends. Though these characters have some similarities, the way in which Robinson portrays them is very different. Richard Cory is admired by his peers, where as, Miniver Cheevy is opposite; people look down on him. One man appearing to have everything takes his own life, while the other appearing to have nothing accepts his misery.