"Richard Cory" is a

narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be s ...

written by Edwin Arlington Robinson. It was first published in 1897, as part of ''The Children of the Night'', having been completed in July of that year; and it remains one of Robinson's most popular and

anthologized In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...

poems. The poem describes a person who is wealthy, well educated, mannerly, and admired by the people in his town. Despite all this, he takes his own life. The song " Richard Cory", written by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

and recorded by

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

for their second studio album, '' Sounds of Silence'', was based on this poem.

Context

The composition of the poem occurred while the United States economy was still suffering from the severe depression of the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

, during which people often subsisted on day-old bread, alluded to in the poem's focus on

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and wealth, and foodstuffs.William J. Scheick.
Richard Cory
" Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition. Salem Press, 2007. eNotes.com. 2006. May 18, 2011 Robinson wrote "Richard Cory" around the same time as " Reuben Bright". David Perkins, in his ''A History of Modern Poetry'' (first published 1976), called some of those early poems including "Reuben Bright" and "Richard Cory" "revolutionary", with narrative elements of prose fiction brought into a lyric poetry written about realistic subject matter in vernacular language.

Adaptations

As music

The American composer Charles Naginski wrote the music to "Richard Cory", published 1940, included in Thomas Hampson's Album "I hear America singing" from 2001. The poem was adapted by the folk duo

for their song "Richard Cory". The Simon & Garfunkel version of the song's ending differs from the poem in that the speaker still wishes he "could be Richard Cory", even after Cory has killed himself. Them (Van Morrison) released their version of Simon's song as a single in 1966. It did not make the charts. Paul McCartney and Wings performed the Simon & Garfunkel adaptation on their album '' Wings over America''. The punk band The Menzingers wrote a song titled "Richard Corry" which was inspired by the poem. The difference in spelling from Cory to Corry is because the band has a personal friend whose last name is Corry. The American composer

John Woods Duke John Woods Duke (July 30, 1899 – October 26, 1984) was an American composer and pianist born in Cumberland, Maryland. He is best known for his large output of art songs. Biography John Woods Duke was the oldest child in a large musical family ...

wrote ''Three Poems by Edwin Arlington Robinson'', which includes the full text of the poem "Richard Cory". Martini Ranch recorded a song based on the poem on their album ''Holy Cow''. Melbourne band Tiny Little Houses released a song titled "Richard Cory" based on the poem, in October 2020.

Other

A. R. Gurney Albert Ramsdell Gurney Jr. (November 1, 1930 – June 13, 2017) (sometimes credited as Pete Gurney) was an American playwright, novelist and academic. He is known for works including ''The Dining Room'' (1982), '' Sweet Sue'' (1986/7), and ''The ...

wrote a play based on the poem, also titled ''Richard Cory''. The play, which is presented with a nonlinear timeline, suggests the reasons Cory killed himself, including family problems and changing views on humanity. American humorist

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

wrote a variation of the poem for the Introduction to his ''The Book of Guys'' (1993), which suggested that Cory's wife was the reason he killed himself.

(1993) '' The Book of Guys''. London: Faber & Faber. The character Ben Nicholson, played by Paul Lambert misquotes the poem in the episode "The Case of the Envious Editor" of the CBS television series '' Perry Mason'' (1957–66) starring Raymond Burr. Author George Flynn also directly references the original poem (and Simon and Garfunkel version) prominently in his novel ''Richard Cory Revisited'' as a thematic device.

References

External links

Edwin Arlington Robinson
critiques of the poem and other works by the author *Variations on the Richard Cory story b
A. R. Gurney, and Ed Dixon
* {{Authority control 1897 poems American poems Characters in poems Works about suicide Works by Edwin Arlington Robinson