In Edward Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Cory" the narrator of the poem spends a full three stanzas to describe a man, a very rich man, successful man, very well educated, and admired by the people in his town, named Richard Cory. He was the object of every one's attention. "We people on the pavement looked at him"(5). Although his financial success, and very well educated, he takes his own life. The poem idea is hat money can't buy happiness. In Edward Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Cory" we see a portrayal of a rich man unhappy for his life. The theme of the poem is that people should never judge other people by their appearance. Appearances are sometimes deceiving. The narrator paints Richard Cory as a “gentleman from sole to crown”(5). The narrator even uses language that describes royalty, “clean favored and imperially slim”(5). He did not behave arrogantly, he spoke to people with respect. He was a very friendly, affable, perfect, polite gentleman. “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”(5). The narrator tells us about Cory’s economic situation and his completed life.
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“And he was rich, yes, richer than a king, and admirably schooled in every grace”(10). It is in human nature to want to be in the place of somebody else, like Richard Cory. Everyone wants to be admired and honored. Unfortunately, it is not the way of life. To finish this this admirable picture of this successful man, the narrator says, “In fine, we thought that he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place.”(10). After the narrator finishes to describe this wonderful man in the three stanzas above. In the first two lines of the fourth stanza, the narrator says: “So on we worked, and waited for the light, and went without the meat, and