Poem Analysis Essay Sample: Love Calls Us to the Things of This World by Richard Wilbur

The poem, Love Calls Us to the Things of This World, by Richard Wilbur, is one of the most celebrated poems in the English literature. The celebrated poet took the title from a fourth-century passage, The Confession, which was written by St. Augustine. Wilbur is applauded for his apparent use of dictions, conceit, and symbols. The poet received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize award in 1988 for his collections where this poem is also featured. On the surface, it is overt that this poem is about love; however, an in-depth analysis reveals that it is not about companionship but the love of the spiritual and physical world. The speaker of the poem wakes up in the morning and peeps through the window only to notice the attires hanged in the clothesline. His immediate imagination is that the angels are responsible for the movement of the laundry in the clothesline. Throughout, Wilbur explores the balance between the spiritual and material world. This essay examines the underlying themes as well as the use of symbolism in this literally work.

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The themes of spirituality are one that is prevalent throughout the poem. In the first lines, the speaker, albeit awakened sleeper, mentions that he feels as if his soul is surveying his immediate world. The movement of the laundry that is hanging in the clothesline makes him believe that some spiritual forces are responsible for this. He firmly states that "truly there they are." Here, he is referring to the souls that keep moving and wondering "with the deep joy of impersonal breathing." In this, Wilbur metaphorically states that the hanging laundry is akin to free souls that are not tasked with any earthly responsibilities. Thus, while this piece of literature calls us to cherish the "things of the world," it also reveals the spiritual interconnectedness between physical and the divine world. Thus, according to the poem, we all united by a great spiritual power that watches greet us in every morning and watches over us throughout the day.

The other theme that pervades in this poem is love. The speaker reminds us that humans are inherent in making errors, but luckily, the soul accepts our intensely flawed human world. Markedly, it only loves that makes it possible to take human flaws. Line 27, to accept the waking body, saying now, we see that the soul forgives the human body despite its weakness. Thus, the soul having witnessed the beauty of the spiritual world manages to love the physical world alongside it.

Noteworthy, the use of symbolism is evident in the poem. The word morning is symbolic. It is an old literary device that is used to denote the beginning or re(birth).In this poem, the poet seems to mean that struggles in everyday plague humans; however, the souls accepts and forgives the body and resolves to begin each new day afresh. Also, the word morning in the first line appears to mirror the purity and newness as it is time for angels.

Lastly, the poet uses the symbolic word, spiritual, to remind us about the calm place that exists beyond the physical world. It is also used to reveal the beauty that surrounds us despite living in a flawed human world. Besides, in line 2, he uses the word spirited to denote the state of being energized as we are used to after we wake up in the morning. Lastly, the poet uses the word laundry symbolically. The clothes that are hanged in the line are clean meaning denoting purity in the spiritual world. What is more, the souls want to be free just like the way the laundry move in the clothesline.

All in all, Wilbur explains his view of spirituality based on the interconnectedness with the physical word. To affirm his argument, the poet juxtaposes the inside world with the outside. The contrast between the two is exemplified throughout the poem. The poem is founded on the themes of love and spirituality. Lastly, the poet has successfully used symbolism and imagery to create an appealing sense to the readers.