Richard Cory was a wealthy and well-respected gentleman in town who everyone admired from afar for his grace, wealth, and status. However, one summer night he unexpectedly took his own life, shooting himself in the head, leaving the townspeople who had envied him in shock.

1. By Edwin Arlington Robinson Richard Cory

2. Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him:

3. He was a gentleman from sole to crown , Clean favored and imperially slim.

4. And he was always quietly arrayed,

5. And he was always human when he talked, And he was always human when he talked,

6. But still he fluttered pulses when he said, "Good-morning," and he g l i t t e r e d when he walked.

7. And he was rich--yes, richer than a king- - And admirably schooled in every grace:

8. In fine, we thought that he was everything

9. To make us wish that we were in his place.

10. So on w e worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat and cursed the bread;

11. Went home and put a bullet through his head. And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,