Edwin Arlington Robinson Poem - Richard Cory

A Secret Never Told

In 1897, Edwin Arlington Robinson wrote a poem about a wealthy man and named it Richard Cory. Richard Cory had an untimely demise, yet an interesting life. The speaker of this poem is one of the working class and from the dialogue I would denote the speaker as a male. This short poem is a characterization of Richard Cory but it is full of irony. Just because a person is rich does not mean they are happy and his death was a good indication of this fact.

This is a four stanza poem that develops quickly but the effects are lasting. Early in the poem I get the impression that Richard is full of life and vibrant, "always human when he talked" and "he glittered when he walked". His character over all seemed happy and content. Richard Cory has all that life could offer a man that was "clean- favored and imperially slim". Sure his description may be a gross exaggeration but it demonstrates a character of notoriety. Sometimes the man down the street who gives out ice cream for free has a level of notoriety.

This poem describes what appears to be a wealthy man that daily walks to work and has onlookers that pay very close attention to every detail about him. My initial concern was why does the speaker appear to be jealous of Richard? As the poem goes along, the speaker gives more descriptive details. He is one of the working class that works very hard from sun up to sundown. Although they work very hard, they can't even afford to buy meat, "and went without meat and cursed the bread". This would be a sound reason for the speaker's jealousy. The speaker had a yearning to be like Richard Cory, maybe to have a little of what he has, down to the meat. In earlier days, biblical principles probably rang true when it came to work ethics. One says in 2 Thes. 3:10, "if anyone isn't willing to work, he should not eat" (HCSB). Why should the speaker only have access to bread that they can't even eat for whatever reasons, when they work so hard? This could be the driving force behind the jealousy that can be perceived throughout the poem. "And he was rich, yes richer than a king", was how Richard Cory was viewed. "He was a gentleman from sole to crown". Was the character held in such high esteem or regards that in a private setting, he could not really express himself? Did Richard Cory have such a secret that he could not bear to reveal it? There was something so private and intense in his life but what was it? Did he feel he had no real escape from the everyday woes of life? This secret would never be identified.

The first, second and third stanza depict Richard Cory's outward appearance and expressions. The final two lines speak volumes. "And Richard Corey, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet in his head." The speaker had the distinct impression that only the working