Unit 8
Chapter 4
III. Poetry
Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went downtown,
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 that 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.
IV. Activities
A. Poetry, even more than prose, requires drawing inferences. Draw inferences to list reasons why "we" of the poem admired Richard Cory.
B. List five reasons why you admire someone.
C. Compare the differences and similarities between your two lists using techniques learned in Unit 5.
D. What does the last line say about Richard Cory? Write two or three of your opinions of Richard Cory. Exchange papers and agree or disagree with each of the opinions.
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