The Poems “Richard Cory” and “Lucinda Matlock” focus on the contrasting lives of two individuals. The poem “Richard Cory” was written by Edwin Arlington Robinson and focuses on the admirable character named Richard Cory who ends up in tragic death. The poem “Lucinda Matlock” was written by Edgar Lee Masters and focuses on the unfortunate but contented life of an old woman. The two poems which are basically a summary of the lives of two characters are laden with significant differences in terms of the symbols used, the themes and the character traits of their characters.
Richard Cory was seen has having an admirable life and it was very improbable of him to commit suicide. He is described as a being an admirable man “gentleman from sole to crown” (Robinson, stanza 1, line 3), a rich man, “and he was rich-yes, richer than a king” (Robinson, stanza 3, line 1). In the poem, “Richard Cory” the outstanding themes are loss of hope, hypocrisy and discontentment. In spite of the many admirable qualities that Richard Cory had- rich, physically attractive, schooled among others he ended up committing suicide by shooting himself. He is also described as being quiet. It was hypocritical of him to maintain silence and a contentment demeanour yet something was wrong his life and even drove him to commit suicide. The poem is a four-stanza poem with an equal number of lines (four in each stanza) and is rife with symbolism. There is the mention of “we waited for the light” (Robinson, stanza 4, line 1) and “went without the meat”. In this case “light” and “meat” are symbols to mean the realization of a good life by those people who admired the life of Richard Cory.
The lady in the poem “Lucinda Matlock” had a rough and unfortunate life unlike Richard Cory in the first poem. She for instance lost eight of her twelve children! This can be absolutely devastating to any parent. She also had a simple and seemingly poor life as exemplified by her daily chores, “I spun, I wove, I kept the house, and I nursed the sick” (Masters, Line 10). In spite of these contrasting lives, the two characters faced contradicting deaths. The overarching themes in the poem are perseverance, hardwork and hope. The lady underwent a challenging life characterised by hardships and loss of her children but she persevered and worked hard in her home and in the garden. In her death, she advises those she “hears” expressing discontentment and whose hopes have drooped that “life is too strong for you—it takes life to love life” (Masters, line 24, 25). This is an embodiment of hope and perseverance. The poem “Lucinda Matlock” is a single-stanza prose. The imagery used in the poem “Lucinda Matlock” is minimal and the poem is simply a narration of the actual life lived by the lady. The mention of “moonlight of the middle of June” brings to the fore the beauty of how he lady met her husband and the thrills of their courtship.
Conclusion
The poems “Lucinda Matlock” and “Richard Cory” contrast in the themes and the character traits of their characters. While the lady in the first poem faced a challenging life that was among other things characterised by the loss of eight of her twelve children, the man in the second poem had an admirable life, was rich and physically attractive. Further contrast sets in as it is the latter rather than the former who commits suicide en route to exiting the world!
Works Cited
Masters Edgar Lee "Lucinda Matlock- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2013.
Robinson Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2013.
