Seminar text: “Richard Cory” by Edward Arlington Robinson
Date: 3/8/11
Classes 1A, 2A, 3A
Cathy Forester
Pre-seminar content: 1. Reading and discussing in English and U.S. History classes about urbanization
and industrialization which created a rising middle class as well as an aristocratic upper class. (Use Peggy
O’Brien’s Unfinished Taxonomy for this activity.) 2. Read the poem “Richard Cory,” p. 589 in Elements of
Literature. 3. Listen to songs by Simon and Garfunkel or Van Morrison based on the poem.
Opening questions:
1. What values do you think are addressed in this poem?
2. What is one adjective that describes Richard Cory in the first three stanzas?
3. Identify a word or phrase with connotations or royalty. Replace these words with words with no
strong connotations. How is the effect of the poem different?
4. What does the word “gentleman” suggest?
5. What does the word “downtown” suggest that “uptown” would not?
6. How do the poet’s word choices contributed to the contrast between the townspeople and
Richard Cory?
7. Why is it ironic that Richard Corey takes his own life?
8. What irony is there in the fact that the night is “calm”?
9. How do the influences of Cory’s social class shape his personality and fate?
10. Have you known someone who has committed or attempted to commit suicide?
Closing questions:
1. Do you think having enough money to do whatever you want to do would make you happy?
2. What do you think Robinson means when he says there is a lot of humanity in the poem?
Postwrite:
What is the real story behind Richard Cory that remains untold? Write a detailed journal
account of Richard Cory’s last day on earth. Explain how he was feeling, how long he’s felt
this way, and any other factors such as problems with work, friends, or family that may have
contributed to the poem’s ending.
or
Write an obituary for Richard Cory. Since he was a prominent citizen he would have had an
article in the newspaper telling of his death, his life, his accomplishments, and any surviving
family members. Create this obituary based on what you think Richard Cory was like before
that “calm summer night.”
Richard Cory
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935)
WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
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And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
―Good-morning,‖ and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich,—yes, richer than a king,—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
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In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
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.
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