Richard Wilbur is an accomplished poet who has won several awards such as the Pulitzer Prize for his poetry. In 1947, Richard Wilbur published his first work of poetry, which appeared in the book The Beautiful Changes. His debut was very well received by critics calling him gifted and a poet of his generation. Coming from a family of publishers, Wilbur was interested in literature from an early age. He wrote stories and poems for his college newspaper while attending Amherst College. He then studied at Harvard University to obtain a master's degree. Subsequently, he began working as an English professor at Harvard. Regardless of the most current poetic trend, Wilbur continued to write in traditional language. His work encompassed a "New Criticism" style known for being comprehensible but also complex in subtle ways. The poem that will be examined in this essay is “The Writer”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In the poem "The Writer" by Richard Wilbur, the speaker's love for his daughter is analogous to a captain's love for his ship. In the first line, the speaker says, “In his room at the bow of the house.” This might suggest that the girl's bedroom is at the front of the house, or that it is of utmost importance in her household, or perhaps that she is the center of the room at all times. life of his family. Perhaps a better interpretation would simply be that she is the center of her father's life. “The writer” is the girl who writes a story. “A hubbub of typewriter keys” can be heard. Wilbur's simile compares this sound to a "chain pulled across a gunwale" adding more boat imagery. “The affairs of her life are a great burden” insinuates that the girl has had a difficult life. Later, the speaker says, "I wish her well," projecting a father's love for his daughter as she continues her journey, her journey through life. In a second extended metaphor in the poem, the speaker speaks of a starling stuck in his daughter's room. The father and daughter watched the bird for an hour as it struggled to escape. for the father, the daughter is like the bird as the bird is like the daughter. The speaker suggests that his daughter is having difficulty not only writing her story, but also living her life. The speaker states that the bird “falls like a glove…on the desk.” It is evident that Wilbur is using the office as the bird's dropping ground due to his daughter's difficulties in writing her story. The desk is where she sits to write her story, as she struggles with writer's block, just as the bird struggles to get out of the room. The extended metaphor could also mean that the father feels like he is holding the daughter back, stuck in her room, just as the starling is stuck in the room. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper from our expert now. writers.Get a Custom Essay The bird escapes, eventually “following a smooth trajectory toward the right window and clearing the edge of the world.” The “right window” has a double meaning. One interpretation is that the bird is simply on the right side of the room, but it could also mean that the bird has chosen the appropriate or appropriate window, figuratively speaking, the right opportunity for the maiden or starling to go out into the world. The starling has finally "crossed the threshold of the world", or figuratively speaking, the girl and the starling finally overcome their difficulties and learn to fly into the world to do.