Literary Device: Irony
There are various forms of irony. Irony can involve the use of words to
express something different from, and often opposite to, their literal
meaning through sarcasm (verbal irony).
Irony can also involve a gap or sense of incongruity between what might
be expected and what actually occurs (situational irony).
Frequently in plays and other texts, a sense of irony is generated for
intended humor and/or suspense when members of the audience are
aware of something which a character is oblivious (dramatic irony).
Example: The angry postal worker bit the barking dog.
How are this sentence and these images examples of irony?
Which types of irony are demonstrated in the examples above?
“Richard Cory”
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich - yes, richer than a king And admirably schooled in every grace;
In fine we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
“Richard Cory” – Author’s Purpose
• What is the author’s overall poetic purpose or
meaning regarding the demise of Richard Cory?
Though Richard Cory seems to enjoy all of life’s
_________________________________________
advantages, by the end of the poem the reader learns
_________________________________________
otherwise – that often despite of or because of life’s
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
multiple pleasures each individual is still capable of
_________________________________________
experiencing deep pain.
• Contrast the details and descriptions of Richard Cory and the
lives of the other townspeople in the chart below:
Richard Cory
“a gentleman”, “Clean favored”,
“imperially slim”, “quietly arrayed”,
“always human”, “he glittered”, “he
was rich”, “admirably schooled in
every grace”…
Townspeople
“on we worked”, “waited for
the light”, “went without the
meat”, “cursed the bread”…
“Richard Cory” – Author’s Purpose
• How would you describe the townspeople’s attitude
toward Richard Cory within the first three stanzas?
In
the first three stanzas of the poem, the unnamed
_________________________________________
townspeople
seem to be extremely envious of Richard Cory’s
_________________________________________
seemingly
comfortable status. In direct opposition to his
_________________________________________
supposed
comfort, the citizens of the town suffer in their
_________________________________________
miserable
existences and wish “we were in his place”.
_________________________________________
• Where is there a poetic shift in tone and/or
perspective within the poem?
_________________________________________
There
is a definite sense of poetic shifting within the final
stanza
of the poem. In the first two lines of the final poetic
_________________________________________
section,
the focus is shifted away from describing the
_________________________________________
gilded
existence of Richard Cory and to instead investigate
_________________________________________
the
dreary lives of the townspeople and Cory’s demise.
_________________________________________
“Richard Cory” – Author’s Purpose
• What is the exact nature of the irony within
Robinson’s poem? Which type of irony is
employed?
“Richard
Cory” is a ghastly example of irony due to the
_________________________________________
poem
clearly outlining the wonderful qualities concerning
_________________________________________
his
life and the reader’s shock concerning the character’s
_________________________________________
hidden
_________________________________________
dissatisfaction or untimely death. This is an
_________________________________________
example
of situational irony because the situation is ironic.
• After listening to the updated song version by
Simon Garfunkel, what details were altered and
how does this impact the meaning of Richard
Cory’s tragic story?
This
_________________________________________
rendition modernizes the details concerning Richard
_________________________________________
Cory’s
life. The most dramatic change is the song is related
_________________________________________
in
singular first person –a more direct view of the resentment
and astonishment concerning Cory’s golden, short life.
_________________________________________
Answer the essay question below:
• In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s shocking
“Richard Cory”, the author employs an
ironic twist to communicate his poetic
theme. In a well-organized response,
complete with relevant text evidence
and commentary, explain how the
presence of irony aides the
development of Robinson’s poetic
theme.
Red – Major Writing Task
Blue – Minor Insights/Instructions