Each stanza follows regular iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ABAB. "Richard Cory" is composed of sixteen lines broken into four stanzas of four lines each, or quatrains. How does the poem's form contribute to its meaning? This is the reason that scholars have placed this poem in Robinson's Tilbury Town cycle, which explores the repressive and utilitarian atmosphere of small-town New England. Their primary sense of "knowing" Richard Cory comes from their observations and gossip. The townspeople's interactions with him are brief and surface-level. The speaker's voice represents the collective, which gives a sense of the gossip that went on about Cory. Nevertheless, it is Cory who dies in the end. These are all problems that Cory does not face. Later on in the poem, the townspeople have to work, wait for the light, eschew meat, and eat unappetizing bread. The speaker describes the community as "We people on the pavement" Cory is considered outside and above this community (Line 2). The perspective also emphasizes the class difference between Cory and the townspeople. This perspective ultimately helps underscore the poem's condemnation of assuming that an outward appearance reflects an inward state. ![]() Richard Cory doesn't speak beyond a quick "good morning," nor do readers know much about him beyond how he appeared to others. The poem's central character is Richard Cory, but it is told from the perspective of a speaker representing a collective "we." This first-person plural point of view helps emphasize the poem's tension between public image and private life. ![]() ![]() What effect does the poem's point of view have on the text as a whole?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |