What is the tone of the poem ?

In echoing the previous thoughts, there is a tone that praises and attaches an almost reverential tone to the description of Richard Cory.  The language employed demonstrates this.  Notice the "crown" in line 3 and in lines 4 the description of him being "clean favored, and imperially slim."  This tone through language continues throughout the poem.  The fact that Cory is wealthy creates the perception that he, in a way, is better than everyone else.  In this tone, rich or wealthy translates to superior, not merely different.  The poem's tone creates this aura, especially in the last stanza where the speaker indicates the struggle in daily existence for those who are not wealthy.  Of course, the last line changes all of this and helps to undermine the tone.  While the perception of Richard Cory might have been rooted in a belief of superiority, this is not necessarily the case as the last line raises issue that the perception of individuals could be vastly different than their reality.