Richard Cory Literary Elements

The narrative of the poem is told from the point of view of a first-person voice speaking for an entire community that observes and envies Richard Cory. That the reader does not hear from Cory himself suggests that his private life—eventually ending in suicide—is kept hidden.

The poem consists of four quatrains. The meter is iambic pentameter and the rhyme scheme of each stanza is ABAB.

Richard Cory himself can be considered a metaphor for the myth of the American Dream. Obtaining wealth and status does not guarantee happiness, nor does it shield one from all hardship.

Alliteration/Consonance
-"people on the pavement" (Line 2): The "p" sound repeats.
- "So on we worked, and waited for the light / And went without the meat" (13-14): The "w" sound repeats.
-"And Richard Cory, one calm summer night" (Line 15): The "c" sound repeats.

Assonance
-"Whenever Richard Cory went down town" (Line 1): The "e" and "ow" sounds repeat.
-"...imperially slim" (Line 4): The "i" sound repeats.
-"...richer than a king" (Line 9): The "i" sound repeats.

The central irony of the poem is that Richard Cory's outward embodiment of the American Dream does not align with his inward experience as indicated by his eventual suicide. This is an example of situational irony.

Narrative poem, Satire

The primary setting of the poem is a town or city where people see and interact with the wealthy and elite Richard Cory. Though not explicitly named, scholars have placed the poem in Robinson's Tilbury Town cycle.

Ironic, Restrained, Warning

The protagonist is Richard Cory, while the antagonist is his public image and the societal pressure he faces

The major conflict in the poem is between Richard Cory's inward life and the outward image that other people cultivate of him.

The climax of the poem occurs in the final stanza when Richard Cory takes his own life.

Foreshadowing works in the poem precisely by being so conspicuously absent: to the speaker and the community, nothing about Richard Cory's outward appearance would suggest anything less than perfect in his life—let alone his eventual suicide. This perfection is itself a bit uncanny, creating a vague sense of something being "off," a sense that is confirmed with the nevertheless shocking and ironic ending.

The final two lines of the poem are a type of understatement, as they simply narrate the events that happened (Richard Cory went home one summer evening and took his own life). They do not provide any context or explanation, underscoring the surprise and irony inherent to Cory's death. This sense of restraint is present even in the line describing Cory's suicide: he "[puts] a bullet through his head" (Line 16).

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The description of Cory's wealth uses repetition and hyperbole to overemphasize his financial status: "And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—" (Line 9). The speaker is also hyperbolic when describing Cory as "glittering" as he walks through town (Line 8).

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