Upon my initial opinion, I had definitely thought the best poem we had read in class by Edwin Arlington Robinson was Mr. Flood’s Party because of how deep we traced it back. I enjoyed watching Mr. Scalia get so worked up over learning something new from Mr. Eder and how eager he was to share what they found with the rest of the class. But with the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t the best poem to me. I was confusing my favorite poem with someone else’s favorite. At first I didn’t even understand - nor do I even now fully, completely understand - what the poem means, even at a literal sense. So after thinking a little harder, I decided that I found the best poem, out of the three we had gone through in class, to be Richard Cory.
Without even reading a line, the initial display of an appealing quatrain and 16 line poem gives off an attractive lure. The poem is almost screaming “Read me” with the straightforward setup. It’s easy on the eyes and it doesn’t give off the bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew-I-dare-you look that Mr. Flood’s Party and Luke Havergal have with their intricate rhyme schemes and immense number of lines in the poem. Richard Cory gives off a much simpler enticement that links all the way to it’s set up.
After reading the poem once, the story seems simple. The town’s idol left everyone in shock when he committed suicide. He was characterized by the thoughts of the people around him. Everyone saw him as so happy, he behaved so politely, and everyone wished they could be more like him. “He was always human when he talked.” He stood out from the rest of the town, “glittering when he walked,” and he intrigued others with his impressive array of knowledge. However, in the most literal sense, the last line threw me for a loop. “Went home and put a bullet through his head.” It leaves the reader wondering what exactly went wrong after the initial, causing them to read and reread the poem until they can figure out what would’ve caused that type of turn.
For me, when I first read this poem I was slightly shocked. Mr. Scalia claimed that anyone who was shocked just didn’t know how to read but I felt justified in my reaction. I was expecting more of a buildup of Richard Cory. He was characterized in such a false light. Who was this guy? Why did the people on the pavement cherish him? Why was his life so respected? And I agree, it was inevitable for a dramatic line to take over and take Richard Cory’s life. But I was not expecting it so soon or so suddenly. 16 lines doesn't seem like enough time to construct Richard Cory's character. And the creation of Richard Cory gave almost the same information as the creation of the people, “we people on the pavement.” Was Richard Cory a symbol of the light or the dark in this poem, the yin or the yang? It seemed that the people on the pavement found more light in their lives, as they “worked and waited for the light,” than Richard Cory - clean-favored Richard Cory - did.
And I’m led to another thought. Is it even about this man, Richard Cory? His inner battle between the light and the dark? Or is the whole setup about “we people on the pavement”? The people who go without the meat and curse the bread they’ve earned? About the real life people on the pavement, the ones who finally own their home and it’s smaller than the last house they rented? About the people who “thought that [Richard Cory] was everything.” The ones who wish so badly to travel and experience life but are in no economic state to do so. And my answer to the question as to who this poem is about is I don’t know. I don’t know who Edwin Arlington Robinson intended for this poem to touch but I am sure that it has touched the Richard Cory’s and the people on the pavement alike. This poem tells two stories, both of equal ability to make the reader feel something. Because, chances are if the reader is no Richard Cory, they are likely a person on the pavement who have a Richard Cory in their life, which is why this poem was the best.
This poem appeals to me because it reminds me of myself. I, like this 16 line poem, appear simple on the outside. I’m a three sport athlete, straight-A student, a member of a very supportive family, involved in various clubs and activities around the school, and (I think) I always look put together (to most extents). But sometimes I’m looking for that reader who just doesn’t believe me, who just doesn’t buy everything about my outer Richard Cory. I'm looking for the reader who will read between my 16 lines. I’m sure as heck not going to put a bullet through my head but sometimes I do have bad days. Which makes me slightly more complex than that of a simple quatrain. Because even when my day’s rough, I’m still the one who’s expected to look after everyone else. I’m definitely no king to any "people on the pavement" but I am a caring, almost motherly figure to all of the people in my life. I also relate to the people who look up to Richard Cory because I will go without the meat and, where I try my hardest not to, I'll curse the bread. I work hard for what I believe in and what I want and I wait for the light. The poem Richard Cory was best to me because I could connect myself to the two stories written.
Now, I know there is so much more to this poem than what I barely touched upon, but I gave reason as to why I thought this was the best poem, why I thought Edwin Arlington Robinson did the best job with this piece of writing. To the best of my ability (which isn't a lot because poetry doesn't rub me the right way), I gave reason as to why Richard Cory was Edwin Arlington Robinson's best poem.
