Robinson's Use Of Imagery In Richard Cory By Edwin Arlington Robinson

The poem Richard Cory is a narrative poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson . It was published in 1897. One of Mr.Robinson most popular anthologized poems,The poem introduces us to Richard Cory. A total gentleman he has good looks, slim, and truly admired by all of the people of in the nearby town. The poem keeps on describing Mr. Cory like he was a angel sent from heaven. Richard Cory always modestly dressed and friendly, Mr.Cory practically glitters when he walks down the streets of the nearby town, and everyone is excited to see Richard. Also, this Mr. Cory is rich. Everyone in the town thinks they want to be like Richard Cory.But everything that glitters ain’t gold , the unthinkable happens. Mr. Cory, despite his money, good looks,

This imagery suggests that Richard Cory was forced to act in a certain way because the people put him on a pedestal. Richard could never let his guard down "Whenever Richard Cory went down town. We people on the pavement looked at him" the narrator testifies. One can imagine Richard surrounded by gawking fans, expecting him to act and behave like a man who has everything. Indeed Cory dutifully fit this role, he "was always quietly arrayed" and "always human when he talked" when dealing with the public. Cory comes across as a perfect upper-class gentlemen, an "imperially slim" aristocrat who knew what the public wanted. Cory not only acted, but looked the part - he was a "gentleman from sole to crown", which was probably why he "fluttered pulses" when he greeted his fans. Cory must have realized that the public "thought he was everything / To make us wish that we were in his place" or else he would not have acted so "clean favored" whenever he was in their presence. Cory understood that he served as a role model to people like the speaker, who deal with the everyday hardships of life. Even the most caring role models are subject to fatigue. Cory must have been tried of being expected to act like a gentleman just because he was "richer than a king" . It seems that after being put on a pedestal for so long, he could not take it any

While the rest of the world the "people on the pavement" was afflicted by hunger and poverty, Richard Cory was immune to such problems and deserved praise. But as the poem continues, the public's adoration of Cory intensifies to the point of hysteria. Cory is no longer just a wealthy man, but someone "richer than a king". Even though Cory was "always human when he talked," the public exaggerates his every action he "fluttered pulses when he said, /"Good morning," and he glittered when he walked" the speaker recounts. By the final stanza, the speaker remarks that the public "worked and waited for the light,"as if seeing Richard Cory had become their only source of hope for happiness in the world. Such embellishment of Cory's actions reveals how the public was deeply attracted to him to the point that they wished "that we were in his place". This statement is the ultimate irony . Richard Cory eventually puts "a bullet through his head", forcing the public to acknowledge that his life was even worse than theirs. Cory's death, like the poem's ending, is dramatic and surprising on purpose forces the audience to recognize the harm in giving