Richard Cory Analysis

Let's face it: the form of "Richard Cory" is pretty basic. The poem is made up of four-line stanzas, and each of those stanzas has an ABAB rhyme scheme. That means that the first and third lines of...

The speaker of "Richard Cory" is a collective we. The poem describes them as "we people on the pavement." These people live "down town," and they all admire one Mr. Richard Cory, who visits from ti...

"Richard Cory" takes place "down town." Mr. Cory himself is not from there; it's a place that he visits. The folks who do live in this town call themselves the "people on the pavement." Compared to...

Try reading "Richard Cory" aloud. Go ahead—we'll wait right here while you do. Not much exciting going on there, is there? It's written in good ol' iambic pentameter, without many variations, and...

The poem "Richard Cory" is all about a dude named—that's right, you guessed it—"Richard Cory." The poem describes his good looks, his money, and ultimately his suicide. Without Richard Cory, "R...

Edwin Arlington Robinson was not a happy dude. (Check out what we've got to say about him in our "In a Nutshell"). He had an unhappy childhood, an unhappy love life, and, even though his poems got...

"Richard Cory" is about as straightforward as poems get. Sure, the poem uses an occasional fancy phrase (such as "imperially slim") that may send you running to the dictionary, but all in all, this...

President Teddy Roosevelt was a big fan of Robinson's. He helped to get his poems published—and even reviewed them. (It's good to have a president in your corner). (Source.)Robinson won three Pul...

Believe us when we say that "Richard Cory" is not a sexy poem. Other than some "fluttering pulses," we've got nothing in this poem that makes us think of sex.That being said, we're gonna give this...