Sad, Lonely Dudes
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 the attention of Teddy Roosevelt, and he eventually won three Pulitzer Prizes, E.A.R. by all accounts was one unhappy and lonely guy.
Not surprisingly, he wrote a whole bunch of poems about sad, lonely dudes—like, really sad, really lonely dudes. If you like "Richard Cory," you might also want to check out poems like "Reuben Bright" and "Thomas Hood".
Talk about your poetic downers. We bet that these three rays of sunshine could all get together with our pal J. Alfred Prufrock and have a grand ol' pity party.