Richard Cory

by Edwin Arlington Robinson · 1897 · 1 min read · 16 lines

In short

“Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson is a poem about townspeople who envy a wealthy man without knowing his inner life. Speaking as “we,” they watch Cory from the pavement and admire his fine appearance, quiet clothes, and friendly speech. Even his simple morning greeting makes their pulses flutter, and he seems to glitter as he walks. His wealth and polished manners convince them that his life has everything theirs lacks. Meanwhile, they keep working, go without meat, and resent their bread. The poem ends abruptly when Cory goes home on a calm summer night and kills himself. This ending overturns the townspeople’s confident judgment while leaving his reasons unexplained, exposing the distance between what they see and what they know.

Ask about this poem

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.

And he was always quietly arrayed,And he was always human when he talked;But still he fluttered pulses when he said,“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich,—yes, richer than a king,—And admirably schooled in every grace:In fine, we thought that he was everythingTo 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.

What it means, line by line

Lines 1 to 4: The speakers introduce themselves as ordinary people watching Cory from the pavement. They describe him through his appearance, treating his whole figure as a sign of refinement. The word “imperially” gives his slimness a royal quality and begins to show how far above themselves they place him.

Lines 5 to 8: Cory dresses quietly and speaks in an ordinary, approachable way. Yet the watchers respond to his greeting with excitement and describe his movement as glittering. The contrast suggests that their admiration transforms even his simplest actions into signs of an extraordinary life.

Lines 9 to 12: The speakers add wealth and polished manners to their portrait. Comparing Cory’s riches to a king’s makes their admiration sound sweeping. Their claim that he has everything rests explicitly on what they think, not on knowledge of his private feelings. They want to exchange their lives for his.

Lines 13 to 16: The speakers return to their own work, hunger, and hope for relief. Their plain bread contrasts with Cory’s apparent abundance. Then his suicide abruptly breaks the pattern of admiration. The calm summer setting makes the violence more startling, while the absence of an explanation leaves his inner life unknown.

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Three questions to think about

How does the speakers’ use of “we” shape the portrait of Richard Cory?
What contrasts between Cory and the townspeople make their envy understandable?
How does the final line change your understanding of the descriptions that come before it?

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