Name________________________________
Robinson Comparison
Directions – Compare the three selections by filling in the chart below. Be as specific as possible in
your answers.
“Richard Cory” Robinson
Point of View
Describe Main
Character
Conflict
Outcome for Main
Character
Rhyme Scheme
# of Stanzas
Tone
Theme
“Richard Cory” –
Simon & Garfunkel
“Miniver Cheevy” Robinson
Name _______________________________
Reading Check for “Richard Cory” and “Miniver Cheevy” by Edwin Arlington Robinson
1.
Richard Cory appears to be a satisfied citizen of town, but how is his appearance misleading?
2.
Who is the narrator of “Richard Cory”?
3.
How is life in the small town described in “Richard Cory”?
4.
What is the twist at the end of “Richard Cory”?
5.
What does Miniver Cheevy love doing?
6. What is significant about line 27 – “Miniver thought, and thought, and though,/And thought about it.” Why
would Robinson emphasize this so much?
7. “Miniver coughed, and called it fate,/And kept on drinking” is the last line in the poem. How does Robinson deal
with the fact that he’s an outsider? What might happen to him in the future?
8.
What is the connection between Thebes, Camelot, and Priam in “Miniver Cheevy”?
Vocabulary development
1.
In “Richard Cory” what are words that connote kingliness and royalty?
Using quotes from the poems, use context clues to define the bold vocabulary words.
2.
“He was a gentleman from sole to crown,/Clean favored, and imperially slim.”
3.
“And he was always quietly arrayed,/And he was always human when he talked;”
4.
“Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,/Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;”
5.
“Miniver mourned the ripe renown/That made so many a name so fragrant”
6.
“He mourned Romance, now on the town,/And Art, a vagrant.”