Edwin Arlington Robinson

"Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" are both poems about people wanting what they can't have. In this way, both poems show characteristics of Naturalism. "Richard Cory" is about a man who is apparently named Richard Cory. He has the best of everything. When he walks through town, "We people on the pavement looked at him..." (Robinson "Richard Cory" 575). He seemed to have the perfect life, therefore everyone was shocked when "Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet in his head." (Robinson "Richard Cory" 575). This shows that even if a person appears to have it all, they can still be horribly depressed. This poem also shows Realism in the way that events like this, sadly, happen all the time. Someone will be at the peak of their life then suddenly end it for no discernible reason. Society plays a larger part in this poem than in many other of the Realism works so far. Society had this perfect image of Richard Cory, which may have contributed to his suicide. He probably grew tired of trying to live up to everyone's expectations of him. There must have been a lot of pressure on him to be perfect all the time. The American Dream is also present. Richard Cory seems to have obtained that elusive American Dream and then some. Apparently it was too much. Or maybe he realized that his life was as good as it was going to get and could not stand the thought. Either way, it seems almost selfish for him to just throw it away like that.

Minivier Cheevy is a man who is not content to chase after the American Dream. His dreams are more grand, filled with epic adventures and amazing people. He was a man hwo was born too late in the world. Society's view of Miniver Cheevy is almost the complete opposite of its view of Richard Cory. They hold Richard Cory in the highest esteem, while they look down upon Miniver Cheevy for his foolish dreams. He is more of a typical Realism hero than Richard Cory. Miniver Cheevy could be any man who wants more from life. Naturalism is shown in "Miniver Cheevy" because it briefly mentions fate. "Mininver coughed, and called it fate, and kept on drinking." (Robinson "Miniver Cheevy" 576).

Again, government and religion play no part in these poems. Nature is also not important here. The writing style shows Realism qualities: it is simple, flows nicely, and does not tend toward the excess of flowery words. Details are common, such as in "Miniver Cheevy": "Miniver cursed the commonplace and eyed a khaki suit with loathing; he missed the medieval grace of iron clothing." (Robinson "Miniver Cheevy" 576).

I liked both these poems, though "Richard Cory" was my favorite of the two. It had the kind of unexpected ending that showed Realism's roots in Romanticism. These poems were probably derived from those of the Dark Romantics who also had such twist endings in their works.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Miniver Cheevy." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 576. Print.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 575. Print.