In E.A. Robinson’s
poem “Richard Cory”, it is simply and
eloquently demonstrated that the depth of a persons
suffering can not be measured by his/her status in
society.
Robinson shows us in four short verses that happiness
must
be found in what we have, not what we wish to attain.
In the first verse of “Richard Cory” we are taken to a
hometown, and through the eyes of the average citizen
see
the
hero of our community. With the use of past tense
verbs, Robinson foreshadows the end of our story.
Richard
Cory was closely watched by those of us in the working
class. Like an artifact in a museum, he was always seen
and
never touched. Some part of us knows that we must keep
our
distance. In lines one and two our vigilance is
demonstrated. “When Richard Cory
went downtown / We
people
on the pavement looked at him.” He was larger than us,
bigger than our small lives. He had an elegance and air
about him unmatched by any we knew. Robinson gives us
the
feeling that Richard Cory is like royalty with his use
of
words, such as “crown” to refer to his head, and also
calling him “imperially slim”(3,4).
Richard Cory was a likable man. We all genuinely
thought well of him even though he was so much more
fortunate than ourselves. He never spoke to us as
though we
were beneath
him as Robinson implies here, “And he was always human
when
he talked” (6). But even so, we
were intimidated by his presence, and when he spoke to
us
directly we were quite nervous. “But still he fluttered
pulses when he said / ‘Good Morning’— and glittered when
he
walked,” for he shone in our eyes, like a diamond in the
rough (7, 8). Perhaps we should have known then, what
was
to come. But with all that he had and all that he was,
we
could not imagine anything better than his life.
Possessions don’t make very good friends or companions
though, and in hindsight, we see that Richard Cory was
quite
alone. Our admiration of this man was the very thing
that
alienated him from the rest of the world.
All this beauty he possessed, we thought was because he
had
all that a man could possibly desire in life. In lines
nine
and ten, Robinson shows how this must be true. “And of
course he was rich, richer than a king, / And admirably
schooled in every grace.” He was wealthy and educated,
refined and poised. Certainly, this is what we all must
want of life, for would we not also be beautiful? Would
we
not be admired if we too possessed these things? Surely
this
must be true, for as Robison states; Cory had enough,
“To
make us wish that we were in his place” (12). So we
were
covetous of who he was, and what he did. And we were
envious
of what he had.
But alas, we were not as Richard Cory, and went on with
our
awful lives. We were the ones doomed to suffer a petty
existence, slaving for our possessions. “So on we worked
and
waited for the light” (13). It was us that should be
bitter
with what
life had wrought, for we were deprived. “And
we
went without meat, and cursed the bread” (14). For is
it
not that for which we worked so hard? Is it not that
which
would make life good? Though it seemed so hopeless,
wasn’t
that to be the fruit of our labors?
And yet here, something odd happens. Perhaps Richard
Cory
was not so perfect after all. “And Richard Cory, one
calm
summer night, / Went home and put a bullet through his
head”
(15, 16). With that Robinson ends his poem, and the
story
of our fallen hero.
Indeed, a hero he is; first because he had so much, and
in
the end by taking his own life. Richard Cory rebelled
against the stereotype that society had placed before
him,
and in his death, threw it back in our faces. More
importantly though, Robinson creates another hero in ourstory with Cory's death; ourselves. Surviving this
life,
all its pressures, all its pitfalls and hardships, also
is
worthy of recognition. Cory beat the system in his
death,
and we beat the system by living.
Robinson shows with this poem how terribly misguided our
ideas of happiness can be. He draws us into a world
that
many of us can relate to. While it is written from the
point of view of the average man/woman, it can also
speak to
those of the upper classes. Even those reading this
that
are endowed with great wealth or social advantages, may
be
able to closely relate to the pressures Richard Cory
endured. His surprise ending not only closes the poem,
but
jolts us into some important realizations. Perhaps
things
are not made as easy as we have come to believe through
luxuries and social status. Perhaps we have to look no
further than ourselves to find a
true hero. And perhaps
even those that are smiling on the outside may be crying
on
the inside. By the end of this poem, Edwin Arlington
Robinson has taught us that it is not that we must need
what
we want, but that we should want what we have.
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