Kailey Ellsworth

Ms. Yeck

ENGL 1302

1 December 2023

Moral of the poem

In the poem “Richard Cory”, by Edwin Arlington Robinson, on the surface he appears to

have the perfect life, but in reality, his life was more troubling than what was seen. Throughout

the poem the townspeople admired and thought Richard Cory’s life was so perfect. He was rich,

proper, and smart. They all wanted to be him calling him, “Clean favored, and imperially slim”

wishing to look like him. Another example of this is when the people say, “But still he fluttered

pulses when he said, "Good morning," and he glittered when he walked.” Just the voice of

Richard Cory and hearing him say “good morning” amazed the people. All the townspeople saw

what they thought they wanted to see but didn’t see what he was deep down. They thought he

“glittered” meaning they pictured him as always put together and had everything going for him,

when he didn’t. They all thought they wanted to be him but did they really?

The moral of the story is to not judge what you see on the outside and jump to

conclusions on their life. Instead looking deep on what’s going on in the inside behind closed

doors that no one sees. People can act fine but in reality, be living two different lives to put on a

show to make everyone think they have the perfect life. Richard Cory did this perfectly. For

example, “He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.” He put

on a show for everyone, not letting them see the real him and what was going on behind the

scenes. He treated everyone with kindness, so everyone assumed life was good. It prompts
readers to look beyond the surface of others and appreciate how complex life can be and how

people can lead different lives. Realizing that fulfillment cannot be accurately determined by

materialistic goods. What you see on the outside can be way different from what’s going on

inside. The way people dress, and act may not always be how they feel about themselves or their

life. This poem is very moving to readers. It shows that although you might think everything is

good in someone’s life, there are always parts of their life you won’t see. For example, one day

Richard Cory had enough and couldn’t hide his pain any longer. The poem's conclusion reveals

that these external qualities mask inner struggles and despair when he says, “And Richard Cory,

one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head.” None of the readers or

townspeople saw this coming. None of them saw it coming because they were so blind and

couldn’t get past the way he walked and acted in public. The townspeople could have noticed if

they got to know him and didn’t just look at him in awe.

The people in the poem who admire Richard Cory and wish they had his life learned

many things after the tragic death no one saw coming. The townspeople are considered poor to

Richard Cory, saying he’s richer than the “king”. They were oblivious to what was really going

on and an example of this is when in the poem the people admitted by saying, “We thought that

he was everything, to make us wish that we were in his place.” If the people cared a little more

and investigated him a little more, they could’ve seen signs that he was going to end his life. The

people in the poem learned looking beyond external success to understand the deeper, often

hidden, aspects of an individual's life are key to truly knowing someone. They also learned

anyone can put on a show and seem fine from the outside so not assuming everyone has the

perfect life is important. We should take care of each other, not assume that people are okay

because they put up a good front. The townspeople realized they knew nothing and should have
tried a little harder to get to know him. That way they could’ve seen signs there was something

going on instead of just guessing based on how he treated others. The poem also deals with the

irony that rich people are not happy with their own life and the poor think that wealth is the

guarantee of happiness. People like Rich Cory can hide behind their clothes, money, and

mannerisms making people see what they want them to see. Materialistic goods cannot buy your

happiness as shown in this poem. It’s easy to hide behind materialistic goods and mask the way

you really feel. Richard Cory had everything and was rich but, in the end, it still wasn’t enough

for him. This was a big lesson for the townspeople to not assume you know everything.

I think this was also a good lesson for readers. While reading this poem the readers are

thinking wow, he has everything based on how was described in public. It never talks about

home life, so readers tend to also assume he has the perfect life. Then at the end of the poem

everyone is shocked because readers had to hint or idea of what was going on. The townspeople

could have tried or seen sign, but there was no way for the readers to know he was going to shoot

himself in the end.

In conclusion, the poem asks readers to reevaluate their ideas about appearances and

jumping to conclusions. This makes readers think about how important it is to comprehend the

internal battles that people could have before judging one another. The tragedy of Richard Cory

presents the townspeople with a moral lesson that includes humility, empathy, and awareness

things may be different than they appear. The poem suggests that despite his wealth, charm, and

seemingly perfect life, Richard Cory was internally burdened and ultimately chose to end his

own life. The moral of the story is not to judge people based on appearances, riches, and high

social status because they do not ensure happiness.