Richard Cory

Comparing all this ideas of the poem with the Simon and Garfunkel lyrics of Richard Cory we can see several differences. This lyric is based on the poem. They both tell the story of a wealthy gentleman Richard Cory through the eyes of a poor man who lives in the same town. In the lyrics the narrator works in a factory owned by Richard Cory. The working class idolize Cory to them he is educated, well mannered and charitable. He surely seems happy to the people with all he’s got. By the end of the song although Richard Cory ends his life by putting a bullet through his head is shown both in the poem and the lyrics. Money brings isolation and not happiness.  There are two ironic elements to the song (Charlesworth 24).. The first is that, quite simply a man who appears so well off would kill himself because rather than being happy he is actually very unhappy. The second is the fact that in spite of knowing the ill fate of Richard Cory the narrator still wants to be Richard Cory. “I wish I could be Richard Cory”. In these Lyrics the writer uses the poem and works around it writing a song about a discounted factory worker. But in the song the way it ends with repetition that the worker still wishes to be Richard Cory indicates the depth of this workers despair. His wish changes in the end that instead of wishing he was affluent like Richard Cory he now wish he was dead like him. In both the poem and the lyrics we see that poverty and wealth comes out very well. The mystery first created in the poem is not solved in the song despite an additional stanza. We can also see the use of facts and opinion. In the poem “Richard Cory was richer than a king “is more of a fact. As it’s said by the narrator and not disputed. In the song “Richard Cory is unhappy” is more of an opinion.

The poem conceals its powerful particularity by appearing tritely convectional.  The speaker avoids the nineteenth century, common sense method of realistic characterization and gives nothing of the subject motives or feelings (Charlesworth 74). The sealing of the man’s identity that is Richard Cory is beyond the readers knowing or judging. This makes the poem intriguing and the best for analysis. Both authors investigate the supposedly anonymous surfaces of life in a peculiar and rather cryptic manner. They both use Richard Cory and his experiences to view the contrast to show what lies beneath them and what people see. We see equal premise, a wealthy man idolized by people around but he commits suicide. There are few slight differences in tone, meter and overall character of Richard Cory. In the poem Richard Cory Is described as a true gentleman who was “quietly arrayed” and “always human when talked” (Gioia 47). . He never publicly displays his wealth and he even goes the extra mile of treating the well less off with politeness and respect.  The speaker in the poem uses phrases like “sole to crown” and “imperially slim” categorizes and abandons Cory in an elevated class he loathed being associated with. He Richard Cory is seen as a regal figure that is unwillingly cast apart, torn away from society and his admiring subjects. In the poem one is given the real character of Richard Cory, one is given the comments of people about him. To both the lyrics and the poem they both seem lifeless until they are dissected and all of their meaning is exposed (Gioia 34). . Both the narrator and the speaker used the usual lyrical, poetical way of self-expression that is commonly used in poems. In the lyrics Richard Cory is really wealthy depicted by what he owns not as people see him. The sphere of his wealth is really emphasized “with political connections to spread all his wealth around”. As opposed to the poem in the lyrics we have only one admirer who works in the factory. Richard Cory is even involved in the Lyrics with the people around in that he even gives freely to charity.