In “The Writer,” poet Richard Wilbur highlights the struggles of writing in regard to his young daughter. Wilbur utilizes imagery and contemplative diction in conjunction with extended metaphors to convey that writing is a grueling, yet rewarding process. The poem begins with the statement that the narrator’s daughter is writing “in her room at prow of the house,” first introducing the extended metaphor of a ship. The narrator comments on the weight of his daughter’s “cargo,” implying that she has not lived a life without burdens and hardships. Nonetheless, he wishes her good luck as she embarks on her journey, both to write and to live. Initially, the narrator compares the clamor of his daughter using her typewriter to that of a chain being “hauled over a gunwale,” a labor-intensive task that can be tremendously tiring. This comparison suggests that, …show more content…
Wilbur illuminates that the writer is also a sailor, the captain of a ship. Writing can be a demanding and exhaustive task; however, it allows the writer to travel, reflect, and expands his/her boundaries. The narrator recalls when a starling was trapped in the same room that the daughter is currently writing in, causing a shift in the poem from nautical imagery to an extended metaphor comparing the narrator’s daughter to the bird. The starling is described as “sleek, wild, dark and iridescent,” all qualities that the narrator likely attributes to his young daughter. The word “iridescent” in particular implies that similar to the feathers of the bird, the narrator’s view of his daughter changes depending on his perspective. The narrator is watching his young daughter grow up and attempt to establish herself in the world. She is beginning to develop and charter her own course not only as an individual, but as a writer. This contributes to the development of a