Richard Cory
The upper echelon of society The Song “Richard Cory” by Paul Simon and the poem “Richard Cory” by Edwin Robinson share the same theme, that Richard Cory the character is distant from the lower echelon of society due to his status and wealth. It also shows the theme that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The points I will make throughout will be how the song focuses on the miscreant behavior and how the poem talks about idealizing his image. The biggest difference is the view the upper class in the poem holds him in reverence and the song curses him, but both the song and the poem wish for the life he had. In Simon’s song Richard Cory is the brightest star out there, he has everything “power, grace, and style (Simon, 4).” Everybody wanted to be Richard Cory, although in both the poem and the song they only saw the public view of Richard Cory not his inner self. In the poem they saw him as a king or gentleman, “He was a gentleman from sole to crown (Robinson, 3).” The question the song raises in response to the poem is why Richard Cory, a man who has everything, would take his own life. In the song, Even after Richard Cory takes his life the townspeople still want to be him. The poem shows four quatrains, each stanza represents a specific meaning of reasoning on why Edwin wrote it. The first stanza gives the reader an idea of Richard Cory’s status. The
Xavier 2 second stanza shows that he had an ancient king-ness about him, “but he still he fluttered pulses when he said (Robinson, 7).” The third stanza tells the reader that he was rich, graceful, had everything and that they wanted to be him, “to make us wish that we were in his place (Robinson, 12).” The fourth stanza represents the tragedy of Richard Cory ending his life with a bullet. Each line in the stanzas has 10 syllables, each stanzas second line has a colon and each stanzas last lie has a period. The tone is more positive and you are shocked when Richard Cory commits suicide. It leaves you
Xavier 2 second stanza shows that he had an ancient king-ness about him, “but he still he fluttered pulses when he said (Robinson, 7).” The third stanza tells the reader that he was rich, graceful, had everything and that they wanted to be him, “to make us wish that we were in his place (Robinson, 12).” The fourth stanza represents the tragedy of Richard Cory ending his life with a bullet. Each line in the stanzas has 10 syllables, each stanzas second line has a colon and each stanzas last lie has a period. The tone is more positive and you are shocked when Richard Cory commits suicide. It leaves you
Cited: McMahan,Elizabeth,Susan X Day, Robert Funk, and Linda Coleman, eds. Literature and the Writing Process, 9th edition, Boston: longman, 2011. Robinson, Edwin. “Richard Cory.” Literature and the Writing Process, Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk and Linda S. Coleman. 9th edition. Boston: longman 2011. Pg 677, Print. Simon, Paul. “Richard Cory.” Literature and the Writing Process, Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk and Linda S. Coleman. 9th edition. Boston: longman 2011. Pg-678, Print.