Introduction
The poem illustrated in the paper is that of ‘The Boy at the Window’ by Richard Wilbur in 1952. The poem includes almost every aspect of literary content found in poems. It is unique, written in the past but from a centralized setting. Richard Wilbur was born in New York City on March in 1921. He studied at Amherst College and served in the USA army when his interest in poetry developed. He later went to broaden his studies in Harvard University, and it was during this time that he wrote the poem. The poem is about a small boy who perceives a snowman standing in the snow all alone. He feels compassionate towards the snowman and wishes he could help (Bixler, 1991). Richard portrays the boys feeling in accordance with that of the snowman, to bring the various feelings of both parties to light.
The poem has in itself used many poetic devices incorporated to produce various meanings. The poetic devices widely used in the poem include those of a clear cut Rhyme scheme, repetition, personification and finally alliteration. The proper rhyme scheme from the poem is that of A, B,B,A,B,C,B,C,D,E,E,D,E,F,E,F. The scheme undoubtedly lies in the gender of complicated scheme patterns. Repetition is also a form of literary device utilized. In the last sentence, there is the multiple use of the word such. The use of alliteration is also presented in the poem. Seeing the Snowman Standing is a clear form of alliteration. The use of the letter S is present in the start of every word. The other form of alliteration lies in the sentence A Night of Gnashing. The use of personification lies where the poet says the snowman get said to have a tear in one of his eyes. There is also the use of simile where the poet writes that, in return, the snowman gives the little boy a stare like the one Adam gave to paradise (Bixler, 1991).
The use of this writing technique influenced my thoughts on the poem. For instance, the use of repetition brought about understanding of the feelings by the snowman and the small boy. The use of simile stressed the stare that the snowman gave to the little boy. This gave me a picture of how gloomy and sad the boy was, on seeing the snowman. The use of personification in the poem had the highest amount of influence in my thoughts. Where the poet writes that the snowman trickles a tear from one of his eyes, it created a biased opinion of how better off the boy was from the inside. The snowman, on the other hand, was outside the street seemed to be suffering silently and in pain. The use of alliteration made the poem fascinating to read, making one focus mostly on the captivating and intriguing parts of the poem.
Conclusion
The different literary poems techniques used by poet inevitably have a profound effect on the reader. They shape the readers understanding, bringing to light what the poet intends to put across in a fashion manner (Bixler, 1991). They provide an easy baseline for readers to get what the poet is trying to converse in their poems. Poets also use the styles to provoke certain attitudes towards readers such as feelings of compassion and mercy as witnessed in the poem.
Reference
Bixler, F. (1991). Richard Wilbur: A reference guide. Boston, Mass: Hall.
