The contrast between Richard Cory and the singer/speaker is one of the critical points of the lyrics, but I noticed that the contrast is also illustrated in the length of the lines. Each of the lines in the sections that describe Richard Cory is at least fourteen syllables, but the lines that describe the narrator are all under ten syllables each.
I also noticed that there's a contrast in the vocabulary. The sections that describe Richard Cory have hardly any repetition. Really, there's only "Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show," and that doesn't illustrate a scarcity; instead it portrays Richard Cory as someone who - because he's wealthy - can attend various spectacles of entertainment. The sections that describe the narrator have a paucity of words. Nearly all of the lines start with "But I," "And I," or "Oh, I." Cursing is repeated in sequential lines: "And I curse the life I'm livin' / And I curse my poverty," and wishing in three more: "And I wish that I could be / Oh, I wish that I could be / Oh, I wish that I could be." While this repetition demonstrates the caliber of the singer/speaker's dissatisfaction with his lot and the earnestness of his wishing that he could be like Richard Cory, it also shows that he's limited in what he has and what he can acquire because he's merely a worker in Richard Cory's factory.
I feel it's worth mentioning that while this song is based on Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Cory," Robinson's poem doesn't have these features. In the poem, each line is ten syllables, and there aren't distinct sections focusing on either Richard Cory or the speaker.
