RICHARD CORY

by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him; He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean- favoured 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 everything To make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked and waited the light, And went without the meat and cursed the bread, And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet in his head.

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Edwin Arlington Robinson is Americas poet laureate of unhappiness. In patiently crafted verse of great sonority, he portrays men and women suffering from lifes ordeals yet striving to understand and master their fates. Robinsons tragic vision had its roots in a youth spent in the small town of Gardiner, Maine. So sensitive he claimed he came into the world with his skin inside out, he once told a fellow poet that at six he had sat in a rocking chair and wondered why hed been born.

RHYTHM
1 2 3 4 5 When EV | er RICH | ard COR | y WENT | down TOWN, 1 2 3 4 5 We PEO | ple ON | the PAVE | ment LOOKED | at HIM;

1 2 3 4 5 He WAS | a GEN | tle MAN | from SOLE | to CROWN,

1 2 3 4 5 Clean FA | vored AND | im PER | i AL | ly SLIM

METER
Most of the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter. Lines 1-3 demonstrate this pattern: Whenever Richard Cory went down town, - 10 We people on the pavement looked at him; - 10 He was a gentleman from sole to crown, - 10 Clean- favoured and imperially slim. - 9

RHYME
Whenever Richard Cory went down town, (A) We people on the pavement looked at him; (B) He was a gentleman from sole to crown, (A) Clean- favoured and imperially slim. (B) And he was always quietly arrayed, (A) And he was always human when he talked; (B) But still he fluttered pulses when he said, (A) Good Morning! and he glittered when he walked. (B) And he was rich, yes, richer than a king, (A) And admirably schooled in every grace: (B) In fine we thought that he was everything (A) To make us wish that we were in his place. (B)

So on we worked and waited the light, (A) And went without the meat and cursed the bread, (B) And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, (A) Went home and put a bullet in his head. (B)

THEME

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him; He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean- favoured 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 everything To make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked and waited the light, And went without the meat and cursed the bread, And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet in his head.