Question

Why does Edwin Arlington Robinson choose to narrate the poem “Richard Cory” from the perspective of a townsperson?

Answer 1

Sample answer:

The people of the town in which Richard Cory lives belong to a low socioeconomic background, while Richard Cory is a rich, well-mannered gentleman, envied by everyone in town, as seen in these lines:  

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.

By choosing one of the townsfolk as narrator, Robinson relates everything Richard Cory does and has through envy. This perspective also helps highlight the shock of Cory’s suicide at the end of the poem. Cory’s suicide depicts irony, as Cory was a man who seemed to have everything but chose to give it all up by taking his own life.

Answer 2

Edwin Arlington Robinson choose to narrate the poem “Richard Cory” from the perspective of a towns person because he felt sorry for the man that what people sees him as a grand man but is lonely inside and thus killed himself. He wants to emphasize to the reader that he knew the man too well that he felt like a real human despite his life and that Richard was a very gentle man, far from what the towns people see him.