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The poem Richard Cory was written by Edwin Arlington Robinson who was educated at Harvard. He was misunderstood as an artist, was in love with his brother's wife, and had a family full of alcohol problems. Edwin Arlington Robinson drew inspiration for his poems from the tortured lives of his family and acquaintances. To turn, what would have been, autobiographies into myth his "stories" (including Richard Cory) take place in a fictitious town called Tillbury. Robinson has a famous triptych that is set to music, which portrays three Tillbury men living their lives in silent misery. The poem Richard Cory is derived from this triptych and has some similarity to Robinson's brother who committed suicide after a series of failed business investments. Robinson's poem is about a wealthy man named Richard Cory who is admired and envied by those who consider themselves less fortunate he is. These people wish that they were in Richard Cory's place but, to the people's surprise, on one "calm summer night" he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head. The theme of Richard Cory is that things aren't always what they seem. On first reading this poem it made me feel sad. The poem has such a realistic touch to it and it made me feel