A Social-historical Analysis of Edwin A. Robinson’s Richard Cory

Abstract:This article makes a brief analysis of Edwin A. Robinson’s famous poem Richard Cory from social-historical perspective. It is discussed that this poem reflects the spiritual life of the author’s contemporary people.

Key words:Social-historical spiritual life material civilization

I. Introduction

Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935) is one of the most productive and widely read poets in the first half of the twentieth century in American history. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry three times in the 1920's. He lived in the time following the Civil War when American was rebuilding and changing rapidly， and when the dominant values of the country seemed to be growing increasingly materialistic. His poetry evaluated the present by using traditional forms， and many of his poems gave an objective description of the spiritual life of people of his time because what interested him most was the people who had either failed spiritually， or who seemed failures to the world but had really succeeded in gaining spiritual wisdom. And he was relatively uninterested in the surface aspects of man's life as a social creature.

Robinson's poems sometimes appear to be simple， yet the surface simplicity often serves to conceal an intricacy and subtlety of thought. Of all his major works， \"Richard Cory\" is among the very best known.

II.Analysis of the poem: A Social-historical approach

We know that literature is the mirror of a society， so before analyzing the content and form of the poem itself， we will examine the social and economic conditions of the half century from the Civil War to the First World War in which the author lived. It was an epoch of dynamic changes in American life， and of corresponding developments in literature. The far-reaching industrialization， the epidemic of money-making and the rampant materialism had exerted a profound influence on the literature on this new nation by providing enormous materials and impetus to write. Besides Edwin A. Robinson， there appeared many other great writers， such as Ezra Pound， T.S. Eliot， Robert Frost， etc. The American industrialization also caused another problem: a striking contrast between poverty and wealth. And great riches and economic power were increasingly concentrated in the hands of the few， as can be seen from the poem \"Richard Cory\". He was \"richer than a king\" while his fellow people \"went without the meat， and cursed the bread\" though they worked hard.

The social and economic change would unavoidably influence the social morality at that time， which seemed to be out of joint. The overemphasis of pure materials led to a downfall of mankind. The primary characteristic of the age was the disintegration of values-morals， spiritual and religious. On the other hand， with the mechanical development of society， the individual is lost. A sense of \"not belonging\" pervades every man in this indifferent and godless world. And since money-seeking was the sole aim of people' life， they tried every possible means to get money， regardless of sacrificing others' interests， which in turn created a spiritual desert or a wasteland as described by Robinson in his \"Richard Cory\" and T.S. Eliot in his The Waste Land. The theme of the profound spiritual poverty and disharmony was dealt with by many writers at that time. For instance， the great American playwright Eugene O'Neil's The Hairy Ape， F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby， etc.

From this poem， we that Richard Cory is wealthy， modest and well-educated. Everyone respects and envies him. But one night he fires a bullet through his head. We are left asking why， and Robinson does not give an answer. He grants the reader the power to fill up the \"blanks\" at will. So we can suppose that the satisfaction of material life doesn't give him the \"light\" (happiness) that people waited for， and what other people wish for is not as important as what a person himself believes. To Richard Cory， his life is worthless in spite of his \"success\"， so he puts an end to it. His escape from reality made people think that what is the standard to measure man's achievement and what is the real success in life， even where on earth God is in man's life since we know that Richard Cory is the center， the dream， in fact， \"everything\" in the eyes of the people in his time. His committing suicide left people disillusioned and at a loss. They had to take a new look at the existing values of society. Meanwhile it predicted American Dream could not bring anything to people except despair and emptiness.

From this poem， we can also know that people lack understanding and communication of each other in a money-seeking society， for when Richard Cory said \"good morning\"， \"he fluttered pulses\". Words describing him are \"king\"， \"imperially\" and \"crown\"， and words used for \"we people\" are \"on the pavement\"， \"meat\" and \"bread\". Money creates a distance among people and left people friendless and hopeless. Though Cory appeared \"quiet\" and \"calm\"， no one knows the \"night\" or darkness of his heart. Thus a bullet may be inevitable.

III. Conclusion

To conclude， Edwin A. Robinson's Richard Cory reflects the social， economical as well as the spiritual life of his time. The fate of Richard Cory and the failure of his people's hopes and desires can't be avoided during that period of time. And there is much that we can learn from his poem today though it was written half a century ago. Nowadays we often hear people talk about such things as \"the poorest millionaire\"，\"Money is the root of all evils\"， etc. We can't ignore the improvement of spiritual life when we make great efforts to build up material civilization， for the fate of Richard Cory is also the fate of the whole mankind.

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town，

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown，

Clean favored， and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed，

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said，

\"Good morning，\" and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich yes， richer than a king-

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine， we thought he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked， and waited for the light，

And went without the meat， and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory， one calm summer night，

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

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