Poem: “The Disappearing Alphabet” Author: Richard Wilbur Date: 1997
Title: The title, “The Disappearing Alphabet”, significantly brings up images of childishness. The word, alphabet, is, in most cases, a word only applied to children in cases like, “Learn the alphabet.. etc.”.
Paraphrase: The speaker begins the poem by saying that “If the alphabet began to disappear,
Some words would soon look raggedy and queer”. He then continues by saying that, since letters forms word which, in essence form our world, if the alphabet disappeared our world would disappear. He then goes through each letter of the alphabet and comments on words that would vanish or cease to make sense if a letter of the alphabet disappeared i.e. “HIMPMUNKS” and “WATERPROO”. Finally, he ends the poem with a final claim that, without the alphabet, the world would “[dissolve] to nothingness”, and urges the audience to “do not let/ Anything happen to the alphabet.”.
Devices:
- Rhyme - The first, obvious device in the poem’s structure is the very strict, very formal (consistent with Wilbur’s style) rhyme scheme with relies on consistent series of couplets. This, although formal, gives the poem a very childish, lighthearted tone that lasts throughout its entirety.
- Meter- Although it works in conjunction with rhyme, the meter is not quite as consistent. It is just a fairly straightforward iambic meter, however, at times this is abandoned and the poem seems to awkwardly hobble along. This seeming flaw in the poem, is significant in that it parallels awkwardness and inefficiency of Wilbur’s choppy, broken, and often, nonsensical words.
- Coinage/Irony- Wilbur’s main irony in the poem comes in when he coins words by removing certain letters. Thus he creates humorous, gibberish such as when “cows eat HY instead of HAY”. While he could easily stop there, he instead chooses to continue on with these coined words, acting as if describe a physical, tangible object i.e. “What’s HY? It’s an unheard of diet,/ and cows are happy not to try it”.
- Diction/Imagery - Although certainly connected to his use of coined words, Wilbur’s distinct imagery and diction supplement these non-sensical words by providing images of non-sensical scenes such as when the speaker says, “If G did not exist, the color GREEN/ Would have to vanish from the rural scene./ Would oak trees, then, be blue, and pastures pink?/ We would turn green at such a sight, I think.”. Through this, the speaker creates an absurdist, surreal setting which reflects Wilbur’s imagined world without language - it simply does not make sense.
Attitude: The general attitude within the poem is very light hearted and a childish, playful tone, however there is still a definite hint of cynicism and satire in it. Yes, the poem is humorous, surreal, and childish, but at the same time Wilbur seems nearly pedantic in his crusade-like defense of language.
Shifts: The only real shifts in the poem occur at the beginning and end. These shifts are significant in marking the beginning and end of Wilbur’s absurdist world created by words in the “Disappearing Alphabet”. As such, these shifts are important in setting off Wilbur’s (still whimsical and playful) more serious, pedagogical moments from his purely imaginative and creative dream-like world.
Title: After going through the poem as a whole, the title seems to take on a different, yet still similar meaning. Of course, it does still remain playful and childish and it does concern the alphabet, but it also takes on a dual meaning. In this sense, the word “Alphabet” becomes symbol for language and literature. Thus, “Disappearing” makes turns the title, and effectively the whole poem, into a defense of the “Alphabet”.
Theme/Total Meaning: The total meaning of the poem basically concerns language, literature and words. In the title, “The Disappearing Alphabet”, we see that Wilbur is using the poem to defend these concepts and show their value and importance. For instance, he that it is “by words that we construe/ The world” and that if we lost these “words” “the world would vanish too”. Thus, in the poem, Wilbur shows that words and language are our way of interpreting the outside world; they are a way of transforming things that are inherently inhuman into things that are uniquely human. By going on to describe ridiculous instances in which letters of the alphabet simply vanish he is able to show the importance of words and how, without them our world changes drastically into something almost unrecognizable absurd.
Poem: “Sir David Brewster’s Toy” Author: Richard Wilbur Date: 2002
Title: Doesn’t make sense without any background information, however once we find out that David Brewster invented the kaleidoscope, it provides much needed context for the poem.
Paraphrase: The speaker begins by describing a tube that “you” image peering down to find “colored-glass debris”. He then goes on to describe an illusionary rose which the kaleidoscope creates, morphs, and eventually destroys. He then goes on to describe the “jumble[d]” colors and the “gaudy” images and eventually compares them to celestial images. The poem finally concludes with the final conclusion that the images in a kaleidoscope provide a euphoric, almost unreal glimpse of “hope”.
Devices:
- Structure - The first, obvious device in the poem’s structure is its kaleidoscope shape which enhances the poem’s playful tone and provides an almost tangible element to the ephemeral images.
- Diction - Probably the most important device in the poem as it allows Wilbur to contrast the heavenly images that the kaleidoscope produces with the harsh, very worldly object of the kaleidoscope itself. Very lofty, elevated diction - ironic for being a cheap child’s toy.
- Imagery - Continues the theme first started with his use of diction, imagery is used to contrast the celestial and spiritual to the earthly and scientific.
- Rhyme - Strong ABA rhyme scheme with three line stanzas, very formal, and consistent with Wilbur’s style which is often compared to Theodore Roethke and William Wordsworth despite being a prominent poet during the time of the Beats.
- Meter - Shifts between very strict, consistent meter, and broken, chaotic, jumbled meter. Reflects the distortions and shifts of a kaleidoscope.
Attitude: A very reflective tone, like one would expect from a person looking into a kaleidoscope. Very awestruck, wondering tone with the beautiful, religious images created by the kaleidoscope while at the same time recognizing the elusive, transient nature of the images. Also, much more down-to-earth, if not scornful, attitude toward the kaleidoscope and the components that make it up.
Shifts: Multiple shifts in the poem such as when the “glass-colored debris” yields a “pied rose”. Also seen when the “corruscating Flinders” end up “Fashioning once more/ a fine sixfold gaudiness” which then goes on to be compared to “Heaven’s joys”.Final shift before the last stanza as the speaker connects the kaleidoscope to hope on earth.
Title: At first, all the title seems to provide is context, however after reading through the poem it becomes apparent that it is more meaningful. By bringing in Sir David Brewster, who is a fairly well known scientist, and the word “toy”, Wilbur connects science to a childish fun. Furthermore, by including the “Sir”, he keeps with the motif of the elevated diction as if to reflect the transformative, almost magical nature of the kaleidoscope.
Theme/Total Meaning: In one sense, the poem can be interpreted as a reflection on the experience of looking through a kaleidoscope (which could reasonably be extrapolated to other life-altering or enlightening experiences). In this sense, the kaleidoscope is a mystical, magical experience that occurred at the intersection of science and imagination. Thus, imagination and childish idealism were able to take mundane, ordinary “debris” and “flinders” and transform them into a looking glass into a world in which even the light is “paraphrase[d]”. However, while this is an acceptable analysis it is also hard to ignore the spiritual elements and Wilbur’s own Episcopalian faith. With this in mind, it is important to recognize words and phrases with religious connotations such as “colored-glass”, “cathedral’s wall”, “prophets”, and “Heaven’s joys”. Thus, when we look at it in this sense the “exercise in hope” becomes much more important as the “magic” from the kaleidoscope acts a glimmer of heavenly hope that shines into our own broken world.
Poem: “The Death of a Toad” Author: Richard Wilbur Date: 1948
Title: At first glance, “The Death of a Toad” seems fairly comical, almost absurd. It is such an insignificant part of the minutia of life that it seems simply ridiculous that a poet would even write about such a subject.
Paraphrase: A power lawn mower catches the leg of a toad and mutilates it, forcing the toad to grotesquely hop across the “castrate[d] lawn”. Throughout this process the narrator provides imagery of the toad instead hopping in mystic, spiritual lands to a “final glade”. He then imagines the toad’s glorious death and imagines an afterlife for the toad in which the toad can experience “ebullient seas” and “cooling shores” in an amphibian ruled kingdom.
Devices:
- Irony - the backbone of the poem, irony allows Wilbur to glorify the toad yet at the same time, through dramatic irony also allows him to create humor and very light satire
- Imagery - the device which allows Wilbur’s irony to shine through. “Chewed and clipped”, “hobbling hop”, “banked and staring eyes”, are all violent and grotesque but are also contrasted with “a final glade”, “misted and ebullient seas”, and “lost Amphibia’s emperies”
- Rhyme - masculine rhymes with an AABCBC rhyme scheme creates a whimsical, sing-song tone which contrasts with the often times harsh, stark imagery
- Meter - referred to by Wilbur as “loose iambic”. Often choppy, with uneven, cacophonous sound which parallels the three legged toad’s also choppy, uneven, and bloody floundering across the lawn.
- Paradox - one of the most prominent, most effective devices used in the poem. In fact, it is really a poem of contradictions or paradoxes. First, the toad is dying, but it is only in death that we are really able to see the life of the toad. Then, the journey of the toad is elegant and royal, but at the same time we also know that the toad is only hobbling across a lawn to die. While the death of the toad seems glorious and epic, Wilbur uses dramatic irony to remind us that it is only an insignificant toad. Even the language and imagery of the poem is vivid and elegant but it is also harsh, garish and grotesque.
Attitude: The attitude or the tone is likewise filled with paradoxes. It is respectful and glorifying but at the same time violent and grotesque. Likewise Wilbur uses epic language such as “The rare original heartsblood goes” and the anachronistic “Amphibia’s emperies” which contrasts not only with the violent imagery but also with the modern image of the “power [lawn] mower” and “castrate[d] lawn”. In the end, this all combines to be a paradoxical, gently satirical, and self-aware attitude toward the poem.
Shifts: The shift after line two coincides with the shift from modern, harsh imagery to classical elegant imagery, the shift from the toad’s death to the afterlife journey. Later shift at line sixteen shows accomplishes the same thing except in reverse. Reminds the us of the dramatic irony and keeps the toad’s death in perspective.
Title: While at first the title seemed simply ridiculous, it is now more. It is still ridiculous, that it is a poem about a toad, yet in an ironic, self-aware style. Through this, Wilbur confirms our expectations of an absurd poem, but also defies them through his epic treatment of the toad in another use of paradox.
Theme/Total Meaning: The poem as a whole is meant as a subtle yet comic irony on the complexities of modern life as we can see through the very obvious use of irony. However, the paradoxes and self-aware nature of the poem are also hard to ignore. In this way, the irony is not only directed towards the death of the toad but also towards the audience, the poet, and the poem itself. In this sort of meta-poem, it could be read as Wilbur sort of mocking his own use of language in which in can manipulate words, sound, and literary devices to impact his audience and their perception of the poem.
I went out hunting and saw an elk,
the find of a lifetime or so they say
with a glistening, silky, elegant hide
and curved, pearly antlers reaching toward heaven.
A rare find - when all comes together, the summit of a career.
All that was left was to reap the prize-
to choose the right tool, line up my shot
and with surgical precision, harvest life from the royal bounty.
Yet in my folly I grew impatient.
I grasped the shotgun by my side
and pumped round, after round of molten lead
into its umber flank, until it collapsed with a whimper
spewing blood, intestines, and shredded tendons
all over the fecal, microbial forest floor.
I ruined the meat.
