The Power of Poems

"Richard Cory" is one of the most popular poems ever written - and it, more than any other poem, influenced my style of writing poetry.  There is power in poetry.  But some of them are also puzzles.  "Richard Cory"  is a remarkably straightforward poem with a punch at the end.   It's held up well over the years and we can all still learn a lesson from it.

Richard Cory

by Edwin Arlington Robinson

written in 1897  

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentlemen from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

OK, pretty clear.  We like his looks - but we are so jealous.  

And he was always quietly arrayed.

And he was always human when he talked,

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

"Good morning," and he glittered when he walked.

I'm thinking he was easy to talk to but it was kind of like making small talk with George Clooney.  "Glittered" is my favorite word in this poem.

And he was rich-yes, richer than a king-

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place. 

Again, great looking, well mannered, slim - and rich.  How could we not hate him?

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head. 

Wow!  First time I read this poem (in high school) I did not see that coming.

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