Richard Wilbur: Poems Literary Elements

The poem Part of a Letter is written in the third person narrative as an observational poem, however the last stanza reveals the voice of an unidentified speaker 'somebody,' speaking in French: 'Comment s'appelle cet arbre-là?' and 'a girl,' replies 'Ca, c'est l'acacia.'

A Courtyard Thaw is written in six quartets with an alternate rhyme scheme and regular alternating rhythm of tetrameter and pentameter.

Richard Wilbur opens the poem The Beautiful Changes with a slightly metaphorical verb 'wading,' and the simile in the second line 'The Queen Anne's Lace lying like lilies.' This comparison makes the field seem like a river or lake. It is interesting that the simile involves substituting one type of plant for another and invokes further natural imagery and scenery. This emphasizes the poets idea that all nature and its changes are beautiful, not just one particular scene or natural element.

In The Beautiful Changes, alliteration is used to describe the mantis' actions making the 'leaf leafier,' and it emphasizes the symbiosis in nature and the transformation and enhancement natural elements can experience in combination with fellow creatures.

It is ironic in Castles and Distances that only the 'hunters' feel the shame of the 'slaughter,' not those who called for it or are entertained by their catch: 'James the First and his court.' The poet emphasizes this with the rhetorical question 'Which of us feels the harpoon's hurt, and the huge shock when the blood jumps to flow?' and then answers it with 'it is hunters alone regret the beastly pain,' despite the real answer being the hunted, in this case the walrus.

The Beautiful Changes is a nature and love poem.

The Beautiful Changes is set in nature - initially in a meadow and then a forest.

The tone of Castles and Distances is mournful and solemn.

In Castles and Distances, the protagonist is'the walrus' that has been 'brought by Jonas Poole to England for the sakes of James the First and his court.' The antagonists are James Poole, the court of James the First and the 'hunters.'

The major conflict in Castles and Distances is between the walrus and the hunters. from the tone of the poem, it seems as though the poet is also against the hunters. Yet, Wilbur writes 'every arrow / Is feathered soft with wishes to atone,' and 'even the surest sword in sorrow / bleeds for its spoiling blow,' suggesting that there is an inner conflict in the hearts of the hunters over what they have done. This gentler conflict without violence is emphasized by sibilance and a little alliteration to contrast it with the 'slaughter,' which the hunters have committed.

In Castles and Distances, one might expect the climax of the first part to be the walrus' death, however the poets lament afterwards is more climactic.

The walrus' 'serious face,' that 'looks with a thick dismay / on the camera lens,' in Castles and Distances seems to foreshadow his future suffering, although he could not possibly have predicted.

In Castles and Distances the description of the walrus' death, 'and soon after he died,' is simplistic and a simple monosyllabic phrase which contrasts with the dramatic and descriptive portrayal of the walrus' natural environment and the nature of his capture and the people's reaction.

The reference to 'water colder than Cain's blood,' in Castles and Distances alludes to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel.

In The Last Bulletin, the 'city,' which 'founders readily and deep, / Sliding on all its pillows/ To the thronged Atlantis of personal sleep,' represents the individual people of the city yet stands itself as a character in the poem. This creates a sense of routine and collective unity in the scene.

In The Last Bulletin, the snow is personified with the verb 'cried,'

In Castles and Distances, Richard Wilbur describes the 'blackhearted water,' as 'aching with ice.' This hyperbole, which is also personification, reveals just how cold the water is and suggests that it is packed full with ice and possibly icebergs.

In The Last Bulletin, the movements of the 'trash' create 'a soft crash,' the noun crash being onomatopoeia, which is emphasized through its rhyme with 'trash.' This onomatopoeia allows the reader to imagine the scene and hear the litter's journey through the city at night.