Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why do you think that Richard Cory killed himself? Does the poem provide any clues? Or are you left to ponder this question without the poem's help?
- Who do you think is encompassed in the poem's use of "we"? What's the effect of this collective voice?
- What's up with all of the kingly metaphors in the poem? Why does the voice of the poem focus so much on Richard Cory's regal nature?
- Why do you think that the poem ends so abruptly with Richard Cory's death? Why doesn't the poem reflect on it at all?
- What distinctions does the poem make between our interior and exterior lives?