Imagery In Richard Cory

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“Richard Cory”
In order to create a vivid picture of the townspeople’s impression of Richard Cory, the author implements the usage of imagery and a metaphor throughout the poem. The usage of these literary devices shows that the people within Richard’s town thought highly of him and regarded him in the same manner as a person of royal status. Imagery is the primary literary element throughout the poem used to paint Richard as a man of exquisite taste that is envied by the townspeople. The author’s use of a metaphor within the poem reinforces the notion of Richard being a regal gentleman who is envied by the townspeople.
At the onset of Richard Cory, Edward Arlington Robinson immediately uses …show more content…

Richard’s name in itself contains the word rich and therefore he is representative of wealth and riches. Robinson develops the ideas of the townspeople wanting Richard’s wealth when he states “In fine, we thought he was everything / To make us wish that we were in his place” (11-12). If one interprets this line as a metaphor, Richard is wealth and the people of the town wish for his status. The envy of the townspeople is noted in the last stanza of the poem with the lines “so on we worked and waited for the light, and went without the meat, and cursed the bread”. This line implies that the people were working towards wealth or a higher status like Richard’s but in waiting they were unsatisfied with what that currently had and viewed the meat and bread as insufficient to meet their …show more content…

We are able to gather the image of an extremely polished male who is not only a man but a gentleman. Richard is wealthy beyond measure and the people clearly lust for his riches. The metaphor throughout the poem which compares Richard to wealth teaches a strong lesson to the townspeople. The author closes this poem with the lines “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night / went home and put a bullet through his head. (15-16)” If we once again compare Richard to wealth, this phrase indicates that although the townspeople believe they will gain happiness from obtaining wealth, they may actually find that their calm is destroyed by wealth. Without the use of imagery and metaphor acting together throughout this piece of literature, it is my opinion that the reader may not have gained a clear picture of Richard Cory and his relationship of superiority with the people of the

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