Richard Wilbur
Comments & Themes
- What does the image of light in "A World Without Objects Is a Sensible Emptiness" symbolize?
- Compare Wilbur's playful verse in Opposites, More Opposites, and Runway Opposites to Mary Hunter Austin's child-centred Children Sing in the Far West.
- Contrast the post-World War II sensibilities of Wilbur's "The Beautiful Changes" with incisive scientific eye of William Carlos Williams' "Queen Anne's Lace."
- Define what is may be considered as a confessional voice and why Wilbur's voice differs (or not) from that definition.
- Analyse "The Mind-Reader" focusing on perspective. Which is the method behind the composition of the poem?
- Analyse the use of language in "The Death of a Toad" (1950). Which is the purpose of so much discipline of language?
- Can serious changes or improvements be detected between Wilbur's early poetry and his mature work?
- How can be described Robert Frost's influence on Wilbur's poetry?