The Importance of Words in "Praise in Summer" by Richard Wilbur
Meitar Kalderon
Essay from the year 2022 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Haifa, language: English, abstract: Published in 1947, "Praise in Summer" by Richard Wilbur is a sonnet that conveys a bizarre world by weaving an immersive conceit: "The hills are heavens full of branching ways / Where star-nosed moles fly overhead the dead" (3–4). The poet imagines a magnificent space flipped upside down. Exploring nature's wonders, he describes gliding moles and digging sparrows. The idea of inverted earth raises questions about the legitimacy of chaos in our lives. Should we allow confusion and disorder to dictate the way we think? Wilbur employs several literary devices – complex conceit, inversive and absurd figurative language, reconstruction of the sonnet's form, colorful devotional language, and musical dissonance – to expose the significance of metaphors in our lives.
