![]() Cory must have been tried of being expected to act like a gentleman just because he was "richer than a king" (9). Yet even the most caring role models are subject to fatigue. Cory understood that he served as a role model to people like the speaker, who deal with the everyday hardships of life. ![]() Cory must have realized that the public "thought he was everything / To make us wish that we were in his place" (11-12) or else he would not have acted so "clean favored" (4) whenever he was in their presence. Cory not only acted, but looked the part - he was a "gentlemen from sole to crown" (3), which was probably why he "fluttered pulses" (7) when he greeted his fans. ![]() Cory comes across as a perfect upper-class gentlemen, an "imperially slim" (4) aristocrat who knew what the public wanted. Indeed Cory dutifully fit this role, he "was always quietly arrayed" and "always human when he talked" (5-6) when dealing with the public. One can imagine Cory surrounded by gawking fans, expecting him to act and behave like a man who has everything. Cory could never let his guard down - "Whenever went down town / We people on the pavement looked at him" (1-2) the speaker testifies. Robinson's use of imagery in Richard Cory suggests that Cory was forced to act in a certain way because the public put him on a pedestal. But despite having legions of fans, Richard Cory takes his own life, a perception-shattering act that leaves the audience wondering how they could have been wrong the whole time. In a dramatic poem, Richard Cory himself could talk about his private anguish, but in Robinson's narrative he is a distant, silent character, an object scrutinized by the masses. But because the speaker is removed from the action, in this case Richard Cory's personal life, he is unaware of Cory's suffering. By observing Cory's admirable lifestyle, the speaker can forget about his own miserable existence - "we thought that he was everything / to make us wish that we were in his place" (11-12), the speaker says. ![]() To the speaker, Richard Cory represents everything he is not: "rich - yes, richer than a king" (9), a man whose very presence "fluttered pulses" (7). The speaker's focus on Cory's appearance is natural, even expected from a working class person who "cursed the bread" (14) as part of his daily ritual. Because the speaker did not know Cory personally, the reader only learns about his appearance - he was "Clean favored and imperially slim" (4) for instance - and nothing else. Unlike dramatic poems which place the reader within the action itself, the speaker addresses the audience as an observer: he was one of the "people on the pavement" (2) who admired Cory from a distance. Richard Cory's narrative structure gives the reader a sense of how Cory's life was scrutinized by people who did not know him. Such an act warrants investigation: By analyzing Robinson's narrative style, use of imagery and ironic language, one discovers that the public's perceptions of Richard Cory are responsible for his demise. But though he was the embodiment of success, Cory "one calm summer night / Went home and put a bullet through his head" (Robinson 15-16), a desperate act that contrasts with the speaker's noble characterization of him. In Edwin Arlington Robinson's Richard Cory, the title character was a prominent man who seemed to have everything: wealth, manners and respect. Who killed Richard Cory? An Investigation It is a good reference for those who have trouble writing poetry essays and want a template for integrating quotations. This essay, which uses exceptional organizational and quotation examples, was featured in a college literary magazine. The poetry analysis paper looks at Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem, Richard Cory, and uses a persuasive writing style to argue that the man's admirers are responsible for his suicide. This award-winning sample essay was written for a literary analysis class.
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