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The Pardon Wilbur Analysis

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The Pardon
“The Pardon” is a poem by Richard Wilbur. The poem describes the death of the speaker’s dog when he was young. As a child he didn't fully understand the idea of death. At the age of 10, his dog passed away, and because he was so young, he never cried nor mourned the dog. As an adult, the speaker has a dream of this dog. At the end of the poem he awakes from his dream, and he is able to mourn the dog as an adult. Now that he understands the concept of death, he begs the dog for forgiveness, and he experiences regret.
The theme of the poem is the speaker’s need for forgiveness for not mourning his dog, but also when forgiveness cannot be given, the ability to forgive oneself. This is suggested when the speaker has regrets of not mourning …show more content…

For instance, “In the carnal sun, clothed in a hymn of flies”(18). The definition of carnal is a need or a necessity. This relates to the speaker’s need for forgiveness. Also, the use of the word “hymn” makes the reader think of a song or melody. However, a hymns are normally sung in a church, or a funeral. This relates to the death of the dog.
The sense impressions related to sound and smell are important in the poem as well. For instance, the intolerable “buzz” of the flies (8). Just like the speaker cannot stand the sound of the flies, he also cannot handle the death of his dog. Another sense that is mentioned in the poem is smell. The speaker notes about the smell of “honeysuckle vine” (3). Honeysuckle reminds the speaker of summers when he was young, carefree child. As a “kid” he did not understand the real meaning of death- and therefore did not mourn his dog.
The poem has a clear rhyme scheme of abbacddceffeghhgijjikllk. This helps the poet achieve the desired effect by reinforcing the idea of remembrance. The entire poem is the speaker reflecting on their past childhood. The pattern of the rhyme scheme being repeated over and over again helps to reinforce repetition. Ultimately, the rhyme scheme reinforces the speaker coming to a resolution of forgiving

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