ORT Greenberg K. Tivon1 Richard Cory EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON ( ) Richard Cory Irena Tseitlin

ORT Greenberg K. Tivon2 Notes on Life and Works  Edwin Arlington Robinson was born on Dec. 22, 1869, at Head Tide in Maine and until 1897 lived at the family home in Gardiner, Maine, aside from several years as a student at Harvard University. For the rest of his life he moved in New York and devoted his life to writing poetry. Robinson earned a small living first as a subway inspector and then in the city's customs office.  His Collected Poems in 1922 received the Pulitzer Prize and earned him a degree as Doctor of Literature at Yale University. Although best known for his short poems, long poems such as Captain Craig (1902), Lancelot (1920), The Man Who Died Twice (1924), and Tristram (1927) earned him acclaim from his peers. The last two of these won Pulitzer Prizes in 1925 and 1927, when he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Arts and Letters.  Robinson never married but enjoyed the company of many friends. He died of cancer in hospital in New York on April 6, 1935.

ORT Greenberg K. Tivon3 RICHARD CORY  1 Whenever Richard Cory went down town, 2 We people on the pavement looked at him: 3 He was a gentleman from sole to crown, 4 Clean favored, and imperially slim.  5 And he was always quietly arrayed, 6 And he was always human when he talked; 7 But still he fluttered pulses when he said, 8 "Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.  9 And he was rich — yes, richer than a king — 10 And admirably schooled in every grace: 11 In fine, we thought that he was everything 12 To make us wish that we were in his place.  13 So on we worked, and waited for the light, 14 And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; 15 And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, 16 Went home and put a bullet through his head.

ORT Greenberg K. Tivon4 - Paul Simon - " Sounds Of Silence", 1966 Richard Cory  They say that Richard Cory owns one half of this whole town, With political connections to spread his wealth around. Born into society, a banker's only child, He had everything a man could want: power, grace, and style.  But I work in his factory And I curse the life I'm living And I curse my poverty And I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory.  The papers print his picture almost everywhere he goes: Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show. And the rumor of his parties and the orgies on his yacht! Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he's got.  But I work in his factory And I curse the life I'm living And I curse my poverty And I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory.  He freely gave to charity, he had the common touch, And they were grateful for his patronage and thanked him very much, So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening headlines read: "Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head."  But I work in his factory And I curse the life I'm living And I curse my poverty And I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory.

ORT Greenberg K. Tivon5 Suzanne (Poem by Yakir Feldman) She is the luckiest girl in the world - I'm privileged to know Suzanne. That's her over there, with the gold in her hair, And the brilliant white teeth, and the tan. It's good that her room's so capacious, 'Cause she's got every toy known to man! And when she wants more, they close down the store And then open it just for Suzanne. She's gone seven times now to Disney World, And twice to Peru and Japan. And here in Ft. Lee there is one maitre di Who looks out every day for Suzanne. If I had a hundredth of what that girl's got, For the rest of my life I'd be glad. Suzanne is the luckiest girl in the world. So why is Suzanne so sad ?

ORT Greenberg K. Tivon6 Irony  Irony is an implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. Three kinds of irony:  1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means something else.  2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.  3. irony of situation is a discrepency between the expected result and actual results.