Exploring the Text

1. How would you characterize the speaker in this poem?

   Question

   Exploring the Text: - How would you characterize the speaker in this poem?
2. What specific information does the poem provide about the appearance and demeanor of Richard Cory?

   Question

   Exploring the Text: - What specific information does the poem provide about the appearance and demeanor of Richard Cory?
3. What is meant by his being “quietly arrayed” (l. 5) and “always human” (l. 6)?

   Question

   Exploring the Text: - What is meant by his being “quietly arrayed” (l. 5) and “always human” (l. 6)?
4. Line 13 opens with the conjunction “So,” which suggests causality. What is the cause-effect relationship between stanza 3 and the first two lines of stanza 4?

   Question

   Exploring the Text: - Line 13 opens with the conjunction “So,” which suggests causality. What is the cause-effect relationship between stanza 3 and the first two lines of stanza 4?
5. The ending of the poem is surprising, even shocking, when first read, and we have not even a hint of why Richard Cory took such desperate action. Do you think it is more effective that we know nothing of the circumstances or turmoil that might have led him to commit suicide?

   Question

   Exploring the Text: - The ending of the poem is surprising, even shocking, when first read, and we have not even a hint of why Richard Cory took such desperate action. Do you think it is more effective that we know nothing of the circumstances or turmoil that might have led him to commit suicide?
6. Explain how situational irony works in this poem.

   Question

   Exploring the Text: - Explain how situational irony works in this poem.