My choice of poem this month is a sad and rather unusual one by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1867 – 1935), an American poet and playwright, who won the Pulitzer Prize three times. This poem was published in 1897 as part of a volume called The Children of the Night.
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favoured, and imperially slim.
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.
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.
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.
It’s an ironic poem, taking the premise that the poor think plenty of money is a guarantee of happiness, which is not necessarily the case. We cannot judge people by appearances – Richard Cory seems to have everything to make him happy, and in the eyes of the bystanders, he seems almost like a king, with his fine clothes and wealth. But those are all surface things, and those who see him in the street cannot know what unhappiness there might be inside him. The poem was written at a time when the USA was still suffering from the Depression, so the lack of meat and the awful bread mentioned in the poem would have been part of daily reality for many Americans.
The poem may have been based on the poet’s brother, Herman, who married the girl Edwin loved. Herman suffered business failures and turned to drink, and was then estranged from his wife and children. He had great charm, but was a deeply unhappy man.
The poem was the inspiration for the song Richard Cory by Paul Simon which was recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for their album Sounds of Silence. You can listen to their version here:
Enjoy a reading of the poem by Tom O’Bedlam.
Have you enjoyed this poem? I’d love to know what you think, let me know by leaving a comment.
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Helen Wood
I listened to Simon and Garfunkel’s song so many times and now I know the source of the words.
Jo Hambrett
I loved this poem Susannah !
More for the clever beat and rhythm
than the story.
Nauha
This poem is so to the point and reality. Money and wealth are never a guaranty for happiness.
Susannah Fullerton
That’s so true.