Written in 1897, “Richard Cory” was produced in the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, which corresponded with the height of the Industrial Revolution. During this period, social classes were starkly defined and difficult to escape. Richard Cory, the poetic figure, was extraordinarily rich, although the source of his wealth is never disclosed over the course of the poem. And this somehow adds to his mystique.
Cory’s Characterizaton
Cory is consistently referred to in regal terms. In line three of stanza one, the speaker says that Cory was “a gentleman from sole to crown.” Line four follows with the observation that he was “imperially slim.”
By the second stanza, he is characterized as somehow super-human, perhaps further elevated in stature by his demeanor and fine dress. In line two, the speaker indicates that “…he was always human when he talked,” but by line four, we learn that (at least figuratively speaking) “he glittered when he walked.”
In stanza three, his wealth elevates him to the level of royalty, as evidenced by the speaker’s confirmation that Cory was “richer than a king”.
The Speaker
The reader catches a glimpse of who relates the story by the second line, when the speaker identifies himself as one of “the people on the pavement,” a reference to the commoners. Readers do not definitively learn that the speaker is from the proletariat until the final stanza’s first two lines: “So on we worked, and waited for the light,/And went without the meat, and cursed the bread.” Meat was a luxury often available only to those who could afford it. By comparison, the working classes were often forced to make do with bread and grain, of which they would invariably tired.
The Theme
Throughout the poem, the reader is repeatedly presented with information underscoring the notion of Richard Cory’s incredible wealth, his calm deportment, and impeccable manners. It is not until the poem’s final line that we learn Richard Cory is also suicidal, since he goes home on calm summer night and “put a bullet through his head.” What is the moral of Robinson’s poetic narrative? Perhaps he intends to tell readers that looks can be deceiving and that it is best not to wish to be anyone else, until their reality is fully understood.
Poetic Devices
Robinson’s poem is comprised of four quatrains, each of which have an alluring four-beat rhythm. This alluring beat, which moves readers quickly through the poem, is complemented by a perfect rhyme scheme, which runs ABAB. For example in the first quatrain, ‘town’, the last word in line one, is an exact rhyme (or perfect rhyme) with ‘crown’, the last word in line three. ‘Him’ from line two is an exact rhyme with ‘slim’ from line four. This carries through each stanza, except for stanza two when lines one (‘arrayed’) and three (‘said’) are a slant rhyme.
Adaptation by Paul Simon
Reappropriated in 1966, “Richard Cory” was turned into a ballad-style song by Paul Simon, noted for his markedly political and narrative approach to folk and progressive music. Simon further expands on Cory’s background, explaining the inherited source of his wealth, his political and economic connections, his wild parties and beneficent patronage.
Simon also makes the exasperation and emotional diminution of the speaker more evident by giving him a refrain. Here the speaker does not simply hint at his poverty, but explicitly declares that he is painfully poor and works in Cory’s factory. This makes the ending, which Simon relates in the form of newspaper headlines, even more ironic than Robinson’s original version.
Robinson’s poem, revivified by Paul Simon 69 years after it was written, delivers a strong moral lesson. However, Robinson seduces the reader through the poem with fluid rhyme and enticing rhythm. On reaching the end, the reader is struck by the blunt force of the final line, making the irony of Cory’s act and the message it delivers all the more significant.
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