What would you say the author is trying to convey in the first stanza?

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Question:

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
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 were were in his place!.

So on we worked, and waited for light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went hom and put a bullet through his head!.

"Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

I am writing an explication of this poem!. I feel that just by reading only the first stanza, you can tell that people look up to him!.!.!.!.!. I thinks it's only further proven in the second and third!. Do you agree!? What else might one see in this stanza alone!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I disagree!.

The piece "Richard Cory"
Publication: 1921 in Collected Poems

If there was but only this one stanza without the rest!.!.!.
There is so much that you could obtain with questions which may have been in the writers mind at the time he wrote this!.

"Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim!."

There is much you could visualize!.!.!.
For example;

When this person showed himself in public - he was always noticed!.
One must ask Why!? -
Was he flamboyant in his style and dress!? Was he the Dandy of the day!? Was he envied because of his flamboyant portrayal of superiority and wealth!?

When the people looked at him, what was it they saw!.!.!.
A spoiled rich brat, a liar, a thief, a generous soul, a man of compassion, a man of honor, a man they wanted to be!?

A gentleman from head to toe!.!.!.
Well groomed and dressed - spoke of wealth - but it does not show the true man beneath!. A snapped shot picture of perfection!.

"Clean favored, and imperially slim!."

He was a delicate and dainty man, presenting himself as other wanted to see!. Held hostage by the opinions of others, always inferior!.
Had no faith or courage in his self to be himself!.
A man who lacks self-esteem, follows the flow of those more powerful, just to portray the that he too, belongs!. Peer Pressured!.

Sam
Just based upon the first stanza alone

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The number one thing I see is not so much that he put himself above the commoners, but that they felt they were beneath him!.
Clearly the rest of the poem goes to say that he was next to perfect and so perhaps unapproachable!. Not because he was, but because people (those with less money, sore muscles from labor, tattered clothes) saw him that way!. They couldn't relate to him!. If people saw you that way, it would be difficult to make friends don't you think!?
All his money, education, neatness, etc, did not help him gain friendship, love and general acceptance!. It cost him his life!.Www@QuestionHome@Com