Beowulf
Wilbur’s retelling of the famous mythic hero part of the book that centered Wilbur a major poetic voice of the 20th century, Ceremony and Other Poems. His reinterpretation of the character is likewise given a distinctly 20th century voice. Beowulf here becomes the hero as a modern figure for whom exultation and fame brings alienation and isolation resulting from the inevitable chasm that separates the hero from the common man.
The Toad
The title character of “The Death of the Toad” situates his demise within a metaphorical universe that greatly broadens and expands his significance. The gruesome details of the toad’s death at the hands of a lawn mower transforms it from a mere unfortunate lower species of animal into a representative of all humankind through the poetic genre of the mock epic which endows the amphibian with a certain level mythic heroism the poet finds in Beowulf.
The Mind-Reader
The titular character of this poem delivers a personal history through the form of interior monologue. The reader learns that the peculiar talent manifested in childhood when called upon to locate items gone missing. This talent eventually leads to the present day circumstances from which the story is told: a café entertainer.
The Stock-Boy
The stock-boy is caught in a moment frozen forever in time: perched on a ladder, furtively peering through a copy of a men’s magazine featuring an erotic photograph of a woman posing on a floor surrounding by animal pelts and pillows, holding a goblet in hand as if toasting the viewer for his good taste. The juxtaposition of the character's job indicates that that the poem is an exercise in irony in which the title of the poem applies both to that which appears in the poem and that which does not: “Playboy.”
Merlin
In “Merlin Enthralled” Wilbur directs his focus toward modernizing another great mythic figure from literature. Wilbur chooses to focus on an aspect of the sorcerer’s life that may seem like that least primed for dramatic reinvention: his death. Although the actual demise of Merlin is only alluded to and not directly confirmed. Indeed, Wilbur focuses his attention on the passing of Merlin primarily in an indirect manner through the external observation of other famous figures from the Arthurian legend.
