Theme of “Richard Cory” The theme of “Richard Cory”, by Edwin Arlington Robinson, is that people cannot determine another person’s happiness by their appearance. The author uses the setting, imagery, and symbolism to illustrate this theme. The settings that this author uses makes the readers think that Richard Cory is a happy man who is greatly admired. Downtown is one of the settings that was used. Downtown is used as a place where Richard Cory seemed to have gone often because the people that work there seem to know who he is. The poem talks of him walking downtown without seeming to have an