Richard Wilbur was born in 1921 in New York City. He is considered one of the most important poets of the 20th century. He was also named the second poet laureate of the United States. During his lifetime, he received numerous honors, for example, the National Book Award for Things of This World: Poems.
‘Cottage Street, 1953’ by Richard Wilbur is a powerful poem based on the poet’s own experience. It depicts a simple social meeting between his family and the Plaths.
Framed in her phoenix fire-screen, Edna Ward
Bends to the tray of Canton, pouring tea
For frightened Mrs. Plath; then, turning toward
The pale, slumped daughter, and my wife, and me.
‘Boy at the Window’ by Richard Wilbur is a short poem exploring an interaction between a boy and a snowman. Through this interaction, an omniscient persona reveals the meaning of childhood innocence and the power of empathy.
Seeing the snowman standing all alone
In dusk and cold is more than he can bear.
The small boy weeps to hear the wind prepare
A night of gnashings and enormous moan.
‘A Late Aubade’ by Richard Wilbur is an ironic poem that enthralls readers from the very title itself. It is a modern poem taping in the form of aubade or a morning song.
‘A Simile for Her Smile,’ written by the American poet Richard Wilbur, is a poem about finding the right simile for a loved one’s smile. It appears in Wilbur’s second collection of poetry, Ceremony, and Other Poems (1950).
‘After the Last Bulletins’ by Richard Wilbur is about the human race’s ability to discard at night what was deemed important in the morning.
‘Marginalia’ by Richard Wilbur is all about the parts of life that exist at the edge of our consciousness and how human beings are affected by the thoughts of their past.
Published in Wilbur’s award-winning collection Things of This World (1956), ‘Piazza di Spagna, Early Morning’ is about a girl dancing on a serene, lonely morning at the famous Spanish square.
‘The Death of a Toad’ by Richard Wilbur speaks on the death of a toad and relates the tragedy to the larger problem of humankind’s conflict with nature.
‘The Juggler’ by Richard Wilbur is about the way that change can temporarily relieve some of the complacency human beings experience in life.
‘The Writer’ by Richard Wilbur depicts a father watching his daughter create her first piece of writing. The poet uses clever and creative examples of figurative language in order to depict the struggle new and experienced writers go through.
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