r tall? The general impression of Cory, like the use of slightly formal diction to describe him, creates a sense of distance between Cory and those (including the reader) who observe him.
The combination of terms that create the picture of Cory as a "king", contrasts with the more somber image of "the people on the pavement" who looked at him. But even the people do not have any clear definition, we are not even sure of who they are -- only that they are of a lower social class. In fact, there is nothing concrete in the poem at all, until the last stanza. Here the words, "calm summer night" at
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