The Rich Man by is a light hearted poem written in three stanzas with an alternate rhyming scheme. The first stanza tells of the material possessions that the subject of the poem has accrued, and explains that he “jeers at fate.” The rich man does not have a care in the world.

The second stanza explains that the rich man does not have to work hard, “he frivoles” his days away. This speaks to the man either having family money, or an abundance so that he does not have to work. He is unaware of the difficulties of being poor.

In the third stanza the author presents the reader with a surprise. He describes how hard he must work to simply make enough money to live and asks if we think he would change places with the rich man. While many might think that he would say he is happy being poor, it is just the opposite when he explains that he would change places with the rich man, “You bet I would!”