The poem “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson

The poem “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson tells the readers about the gap in social class in between people and that outward appearances are not constantly what they seem to be. In other word, what you see on the outside might just diverse from what you will see in the inside do not judge a book by its cover. The story itself is about a wealthy man who commits suicide, and is becoming told from a third person’s point of view as a citizen in the town who watches his every day life. The primary points in this poem are the speaker’s situations, the language he uses, Richard Cory’s situation, and the irony of the story.

The speaker of this poem seems to be an individual from a low level class, as “We folks on the pavement looked at him” (Robinson 2) states, and the speaker also apparently has a job that demands them to be dirty as shown, “Clean favored” (Robinson four) implies. “So on we worked, and waited for the light”, “And went with no the meat, and cursed the bread” (Robinson 17-18), reveal that the speaker is also a hard worker and has a really tiring job. Even with that, they nonetheless can’t afford to get meat and decent bread for their meal. Given that, the speaker is using a third person’s point of view, that signifies most individuals are in agreement with his opinion and it isn’t his only thoughts.

In this poem, the speaker is utilizing each day language that is effortless to realize, though there are some words that are odd, like “admirably schooled” (Robinson 10). When someone is really wealthy, it is just usual for them to go to college and/or get some kind of education. However, the word “admirably” (Robinson 10) implies that the speaker wasn’t an educated particular person, and as a result it was rather admirable for them that someone is in a position to go to college. The phrase “waited for the light” (Robinson 13). rather than just light that would mean time to function, apparently the light in this phrase is employed to indicates hope.

The initial, second and third stanza tell the readers about Richard Cory, or at least who he is from an outsider’s point of view. Those lines clearly state that Richard Cory is a wealthy man, and the speaker even goes as far as evaluate him to the king (Robinson 9). He is also a polite man that never treats other men and women differently regardless of the social status. Cory is also a person who dresses effectively and is able to location himself in public and by no means show his wealthy off. Other than outward appearances, Robinson in no way gave a clue about Cory’s personalities and he also in no way gave the readers a glimpse about Cory’s private life. Like his connection with his family members or even his lovers, if he had any. People look to be admiring him deeply and they’re even actually rather envious of him and wish to be in his place (Robinson 12). Despite all that, Cory ends up committing a suicide (Robinson 16).

The irony in that is, Cory does have almost everything a man could ask for, but apparently all that tends to make him an outcast to the folks in town. Individuals look to truly admire him to a level exactly where they think of him as someone who is far above them, and they feel about themselves as a person who is unworthy of his interest. “But nonetheless he fluttered pulses when he said, “Good-morning,”” (Robinson 7-8) clearly state that people feel really privileged when he just merely greets them on the street, even the sight of him walking is special for them “and he glittered when he walked” (Robinson eight). It is virtually like the folks in the town do not think about him as a human most of the time, due to the fact he is as well best to be a single and only then bear in mind that he is a human just like the rest of them when he talked. Their self-conscious attitudes toward him unconsciously make him an outcast. He may be not an outcast simply because he is the lowest of the low in the social status, simply because he is far from it but an outcast is still an outcast, be it since of people’s also higher regards, and regardless of whether they are conscious of it or no.

In this poem, Robinson is attempting to say that occasionally anything is not as it seems to be. Individuals in the town as the speaker has mentioned, clearly assume that due to the fact Cory has every thing, that implies he’s pleased. Then he ends his own life, which signifies what ever it was that he had been through have to be really difficult for him and chose death as a way out. This is also signifies that income can not bring you happiness, if what happened to Cory is anything to go by. There are a lot of meanings that Robinson incorporated in such a brief poem, and his utilizing of everyday language was somehow amplified the meaning of the ending of the poem. This poem is actually a brilliant piece of artwork.