Question

Which element of modernist poetry is evident in this excerpt from "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson?

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.

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. The Theme is Alienation and Dissatisfaction. "Richard Cory" is a narrative poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson and published in 1897, as part of The Children of the Night. The poem describes  wealthy, well educated, mannerly, and admired person in his town. Despite all the seemingly perfect life, he ends up shooting himself in the head.

Answer 2

In the context of this particular poem and stanzas it would be alienation and ambiguity. The character Richard Cory, is obviously isolated from common, ordinary people. He is alienated by not only a very privileged upbringing but by how it affects his place in society and such alienation is one of the core trends of Modernist poetry. He is referred to as “a king, admirably schooled, in his place” and this obviously separates him from the narrator and his social class. The poem obviously remains ambiguous about the reasons for his suicide but it clearly implies some kind of deep, prevalent malaise which stems from his isolation. The oxymoronic tension between “one calm summer night” and “”a bullet through his head” typify such alienation.