Elements of Literature Course 5

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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.

1. How did you respond to the ending of the poem?
2. What is ironic in the fact that Richard Cory takes his own life? What irony is there in the fact that the night was calm?
3. Find five words or phrases in “Richard Cory” that connote kingliness or royalty. How does the poet’s choice of these words contribute to the contrast between the townspeople and Richard Cory?
4. Does the harsh surprise ending hint that the real story is the one that remains untold? What aspects of Richard Cory’s life are not mentioned? How might these hidden or overlooked areas account for his fate?

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Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,
Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;
He wept that he was ever born,
And he had reasons.
Miniver loved the days of old
When swords were bright and steeds were prancing:
The vision of a warrior bold
Would set him dancing.
Miniver sighed for what was not,
And dreamed, and rested from his labors;
He dreamed of Thebes° and Camelot,°
And Priam’s° neighbors.
Miniver mourned the ripe renown
That made so many a name so fragrant;
He mourned Romance, now on the town,°
And Art, a vagrant.
Miniver loved the Medici,°
Albeit° he had never seen one;
He would have sinned incessantly
Could he have been one.
Miniver cursed the commonplace
And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;
He missed the medieval grace
Of iron clothing.°
Miniver scorned the gold he sought,
But sore annoyed was he without it;
Miniver thought, and thought, and thought,
And thought about it.
Miniver Cheevy, born too late,
Scratched his head and kept on thinking;
Miniver coughed, and called it fate,
And kept on drinking.

1. What were your thoughts or feelings about Cheevy and his attitude toward life?
2. What do you think “child of scorn” means?
3. Do Cheevy’s problems really stem from his having been “born too late”? Explain. How does the disappointed Cheevy cope with his lot in life?
4. “Romance” and “Art” are personified in the fourth stanza. What does Cheevy think has happened to romance and art in his own time?
5. How would you describe the change of tone in the last stanza? How does this change affect the poem’s meaning?
6. Explain whether or not you think the tales of Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy have a moral or message for us today. Where can you find Corys and Cheevys in today’s world?
7. Refer to your Quickwrite notes, and tell whether the poems indicate that appearances can be deceiving.

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