The Use Of Diction In Richard Cory By Edwin Arlington Robinson
In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s “Richard Cory,” Robinson employs diction that sets us up to believe that Richard Cory is everything that anyone would want to be. The name “Richard” even sounds of royalty and riches; many kings had the name Richard and the word “rich” is within the name itself. The townspeople view him as “imperially slim,” as “a gentleman from sole to crown,” (830) and was even described as “richer than a king” (831). Richard Cory “went downtown” and the townspeople referred to themselves as the “people on the pavement” (830), signifying that Richard lived an upscale life and was a man that people would step off the sidewalk so he may pass. The word choice of the poet leads the audience to believe Richard is a man that has it
all. However, at the very end, Robinson ironically allows Richard to commit suicide and “put a bullet through his head” (831). Although Richard was a wealthy man that seemed as if he had everything anyone could ever want, he evidently did not live a fulfilling life because he decided to take his own life. Conversely, in Edgar Lee Masters’ “Lucinda Matlock,” the title character lives a hard country life yet has no complaints and even seems joyful about her time on the Earth. She lost eight of twelve children before she was sixty, she claims “I spun, I wove, I kept the house, I nursed the sick, I made the garden, and … Rambled over the fields…” (879). This life that Lucinda lived would warrant complaints from anyone. However, she never complains. In fact, she labels the youth that lives in “sorrow, weariness, anger, discontent and drooping hopes” as “degenerate sons and daughters” (879). The audience would expect that after living such a hard life that she would be bitter and loathsome, but instead she appreciates life and even states that “it takes life to love Life” (880) before passing into a “sweet repose” (879). In both of these examples from the text, the audience is led to believe that the title character would have a certain outlook on their life based on the circumstances from the plot and from the diction used by the poet. However, both poets set the audience up to make these judgments only to prove that things are not always as they seem.
all. However, at the very end, Robinson ironically allows Richard to commit suicide and “put a bullet through his head” (831). Although Richard was a wealthy man that seemed as if he had everything anyone could ever want, he evidently did not live a fulfilling life because he decided to take his own life. Conversely, in Edgar Lee Masters’ “Lucinda Matlock,” the title character lives a hard country life yet has no complaints and even seems joyful about her time on the Earth. She lost eight of twelve children before she was sixty, she claims “I spun, I wove, I kept the house, I nursed the sick, I made the garden, and … Rambled over the fields…” (879). This life that Lucinda lived would warrant complaints from anyone. However, she never complains. In fact, she labels the youth that lives in “sorrow, weariness, anger, discontent and drooping hopes” as “degenerate sons and daughters” (879). The audience would expect that after living such a hard life that she would be bitter and loathsome, but instead she appreciates life and even states that “it takes life to love Life” (880) before passing into a “sweet repose” (879). In both of these examples from the text, the audience is led to believe that the title character would have a certain outlook on their life based on the circumstances from the plot and from the diction used by the poet. However, both poets set the audience up to make these judgments only to prove that things are not always as they seem.