Edwin Arlington Robinson's Poetry Essay

In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory” and T.R. Hummer’s poem “Glass Ceiling,” both poets share the common theme of people shielding themselves from reality for social reasons. In everyday life, there are people who want to fit in, regardless of the people they hurt. Fitting in is really important for some people, even though it does not matter for most, sometimes people do the opposite and try to standout. However, this is common in everyday life, and is a popular subject among teens. Both Robinson and Hummer present the idea of why people want to fit in with society’s standards.
In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory,” the structure consists of ten syllables per line, a four quatrain, and is a blank verse, the speaker is someone who thinks fondly of him, but does not know him personally. Richard Cory is portrayed as someone who has everything, in terms of wealth, looks, and charm. He presents himself as a strong independent man in which nothing is wrong with and his life is perfect.
Essentially, Richard Cory put up a barrier and showed everyone his good side, in order to not worry anyone or give them problems. As a result, he kills himself by the end of the poem, which was unexpected until line fifteen, when the word “bullet” is presented. It was simply too much for him to handle that he ended his life too soon. It makes you wonder, when you ask someone how they are, if they are genuinely fine. Additionally. If a person is doing well financially, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are doing well mentally.
In T.R. Hummer’s poem “Glass Ceiling,” the author refers to his mother as his grandmother, for her age, masking her identity. She struggles to make him happy, as he brings her down by not telling others who she really is, his mother. The author gives reasons for do so, such as,”you wouldn’t believe a word of it, since a mother should be leading a research group, or running a software company,but a grandmother still can dress in buckskin.” His mother is not the typical “mother” she does not act like one, she does different things with her free time. In order for him to present his mother as normal, he tells everyone what the expect to hear or what the infer her to be. Eventually, she passes away, and he feels guilty for not acknowledging her true identity. The moral here is that no one has the authority to change another person’s identity. On the other hand, if they do happen to, it will affect their relationship, and once they lose the person, they may feel guilty for falsely representing them.
In both poems, there is a common theme, people hide their identity, regardless of the reason.
In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory,” Richard has everything from what others can see, but he ends his life too soon. The fact is no one may know when someone is going through a bad time or they are not feeling well, we just assume the person is doing well because of the way the present themselves. For example, some of the poorest people on earth may not have much and we may assume their lives are miserable,, but they still manage to have a smile on their face. In T.R. Hummer’s poem “Glass Ceiling,” a son masks his mother's identity, this may be relatable to the average teen, seen as they think their parents are embarrassing. However, it was unfortunate that there time together was cut short, but as a result, he never got the chance to reveal her true identity. Similarly, both of the poets mask identity, in order for the people around them to “accept”
them.
To conclude, both poets use the theme of masking one's true identity. They use their mask to fit in with society’s standards, which is to be perfect at all costs. In today’s society, it is “important” to fit in, whatever the reason may be. As one can conclude from the poems, they went through a great trouble to mask their identity.