The poem begins with introducing Richard Cory as a gentleman who is good looking, slim and liked by all of town. The poem continues describing Cory as modestly dressed, friendly, and extremely wealthy. The entire town wanted to be Cory. Richard Cory, despite his wealth, and good looks goes home and shoots himself in the head. The poem itself is in the standard ABAB rhyme meaning so the first and third line rhyme and the second and fourth lines rhyme. When looking at the narrator of "Richard Cory" the reader can see that the narrator talks as a collective we. The poem describes them as "we people on the pavement."
