Richard Wilbur: Poems

Richard Wilbur: Poems Analysis

“We”

“We” exemplifies the We versus I binary. The first stanza reads: “We ought to drop the bomb at once before/Those Russians do. I’m sure you all agree.” The ‘we’ relates to a pluralistic creed that heartens “the Continentals” to blast-off bomb assaults against the Russians. Comparatively, the second stanza reads, “I fear we’re growing soft.” The unitaristic comment which is attributed to Mr. Fee depicts unitarism philosophy that asserts singular objections of the war. Based on the exchanges in “We”, verdicts made during war match Unitarism against Pluralism. The ideology employed by the opponents pursues the staple goal of outfoxing the challengers.

“Worlds”

The poem “Worlds” illuminates the contradictory dogmas that stimulus individuals’ impetuses. Wilbur writes, “For Alexander there was no Far East, Because he thought the Asian continent/Ended with India.” Alexander’s pursuance of India is credited to the incentive of discontentment. His dissatisfaction impelled him to amplify his terrain. Comparatively, Newton embraced contentment: “ To him (Newton) it seemed that he’d but played/with a few shells and pebbles on the shore.” Newton did not pursue all the pebbles in the world for him to appraise the profoundness of life. The limited pebbles he had inspired his outlook adequately and disregarded the requirement to source supplementary pebbles. Clearly, the world is partially shaped by Contentment versus Discontentment binary.

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