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Analysis of "Richard Cory" The literary princi

The literary principle to be examined in this brief analysis of Edward Arlington Robinson's poem, "Richard Cory," is that poets select language that has emotionally charged meaning in order to capture mood or express specific ideas. Robin's poem describes a wealthy, physically attractive, graceful, friendly, and envied resident of a small town. Richard Cory is seen by Robinson's narrator û who speaks for his fellow less affluent townspeople as indicated by the use of [phrases such as "we people" (Robinson 1690) û as a person for whom life presents few difficulties. Where the people of the town "thought that he was everything/to make us wish that we were in his place (Robinson 1691)," the reality is that underneath his "quietly arrayed" exterior, Richard Cory was desperately sad û so sad that on "one calm summer night" he "went home and put a bullet though his head."

The language chosen by the poet to characterize Richard Cory deliberately paints a picture of a person who has everything of value. He is wealthy, but in addition to that he is "clean favored, and imperially slim (Robinson 1690)." He was kind and "human" when he interacted with less fortunate people in the town. And he even "glittered when he walked (Robinson 1690)." This was a man "admirably schooled in every grace (Robinson 1691).

The resulting image created by Robinson of Richard Cory is of a man for whom the world was a beautiful place. He is seen in stark contrast to others, for whom the "meat" available to Cory is replaced by the "bread," which the people "cursed. What this means is that they envied the things that Cory could access û things that were available to him because of his wealth and which were therefore unavailable to them as they worked all their lives. The terms used to describe Cory were deliberately chosen to identify him as a member of an elite class and to differentiate him from others in the town for whom life wa apparently far mor...

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Analysis of "Richard Cory" The literary princi. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:05, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1703467.html