Who is the speaker in the poem Richard Cory?

The speaker
in the poem speaks from a third-person limited point of view. He counts himself among the many
admirers of , evidenced by the first word of the second line of the poem, "We." Since
he is not omniscient, he cannot enter the thoughts of the much-admired Richard Cory and explain
his state of mind or why a man who seemed to have it all would commit suicide.

The speaker is presumably not wealthy or capable of dressing with the quiet dignity
with which Richard Cory arrays himself. The speaker is like the other people in town who work
and go without luxuries and wish they were in the place of Richard Cory, until Richard Cory
surprises them all by fatally shooting himself.