We’ve all stood in front of the metaphorical wall at some point in the task of writing. In the poem “The Writer” by Richard Wilbur, there is evident use of different types of devices to communicate with his audience the connection of this wall to his daughter and in turn revealing a theme throughout his poem. The most significant devices Wilbur uses are imagery and the extended metaphor.
The reader is initially introduced to the writer and his daughter’s relationship through an extended metaphor of a ship and its counterparts. The setting is illustrated through the juxtaposition of the writer’s daughters location and the common structure of a ship. Rather than specify the writer’s daughter is in a room at the front of the house, the diction is revised so “prow” is used in substitution. This continues as the writer makes an indication that his daughter is writing and so vigorously that her…show more content… The starling also is constantly hitting a wall however in a physical aspect. The bird continues helplessly to in search of the path to liberation. Although the bird continues to “Batter against the brilliance” the efforts to find the right path is not hesitant but just as equally demonstrated. The bird is also allowed to go through this trial entirely without assistance, although someone is peering in the distance The writer sees his daughter in this light although she constantly is reaching this wall of discouragement and frustration it does not seem to be a permanent fixture in her path. The imagery is vivid in this anecdote. The severity of the starling’s determination once “sleek, wild, dark, and iridescent” turned “humped and bloody” is portrayed through these lines. Also depicted is the hopefulness the writer had in his daughters efforts, for every time the bird or his daughter hits the wall it is still evident in the importance that both parties remain motivated in seeking their