Student Question
What does the description of Richard Cory's speech in line 6 likely imply?
Quick answer:
The description of Richard Cory's speech implies a contrast between his ordinary manner of speaking and the extraordinary effect he had on others. Although he spoke in a human, everyday manner, his presence and the aura of refinement and regality surrounding him caused excitement and admiration. This suggests that people's perceptions of him were shaped more by their expectations and his external persona than by his actual words or actions, hinting at the poem's theme of deceptive appearances.
Look at the whole stanza:
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.
Remember that this is a deceptive poem; the reader, like the townsfolk, is mislead by what is seen and heard of Richard Cory. "And he was always human when he talked..." makes you think that he was an everyday person, just like the rest of us. But the next line contradicts that idea: "But still he fluttered pulses when he said, 'Good Morning!' "
How could that be? He spoke like such an everyday, human individual, and yet he caused excitement with his slightest utterance. What this implies is that, although he never said anything very surprising or profound, everthing else about him was so exceptionally regal and refined that his simplest words caused us to revere and elevate him because of our misguided expectations.
There is subtle foreshadowing at work here.
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