“The Beautiful Changes” by Richard Wilbur
One wading a Fall meadow finds on all sides
The Queen Anne's Lace lying like lilies
On water; it glides
So from the walker, it turns
Dry grass to a lake, as the slightest shade of you
Valleys my mind in fabulous blue Lucernes
The beautiful changes as a forest is changed
By a chameleon's tuning his skin to it;
As a mantis, arranged
On a green leaf, grows
Into it, makes the leaf leafier, and proves
Any greenness is deeper than anyone knows.
Your hands hold roses always in a way that says
They are not only yours; the beautiful changes
In such king ways,
Wishing ever to sunder
Things and things' selves for a second finding, to lose
For a moment all that it touches back to wonder.
Wilbur's poem uses a variety of natural elements to show how influenced humans are by one another. By using the aspect of beauty, he is able to show how, although ever changing yet always remaining beautiful, people's ideas change. The picture that is formed in the readers mind emphasizes the change. The reader can visualize the elements of nature that Wilbur describes. “The beautiful changes as a forest is changed/ by a chameleon's tuning his skin to it”. Someone may see the forest as less than beautiful, but then when someone else decides it is beautiful, the first person changes their mind. The chameleon represents the influence of others, an ever changing force. However, Wilbur mentions that “Any greenness is deeper than anyone knows”. Such a statement allows for the reader to grasp the idea that opinions, like beauty, are infinite and that they will never be completely revealed, even to the owner of the opinions. The whole aspect of opinions being influenced by others is further emphasized by “Your hands hold roses always in a way that says/ They are not only yours”. The obvious bit of information revealed in the line is that although one may hold an object on their own, their ideas about the object are “not only [theirs]”, but belong to someone else. The elements of language the author uses, elements that create a picture in the readers mind help to emphasize a point. Rather than simply stating the message behind the poem, the author intends for the reader to form their own opinion based on how they view the visual aspect of the poem and how it fits into their own life.
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15 years ago
4 comments:
In this poem, Wilbur explains that beauty can be found everywhere. He intertwines nature and humanity, placing emphasis on the fleeting aspect of all things. I agree that he is trying to say that people's ideas change. Also, often times our views are skewed by factors we can't control. The mantis "makes the leaf leafier" and therefore creates in our minds an altered image. It transforms into a "greenness deeper than anyone knows". This sort of beauty is created and completely original.
I like Lisa's idea that Wilbur is commenting on the ever changing definition of what is "beautiful". The language that he used helped to deliver his message. In the first stanza I was quick to note the rhyming. The most interesting rhyme to me was the turns/Lucernes rhyme. Right from the beginning of the poem the rhyming is used to make a mark in the readers mind, here it shows that the human mind is very important to the message, by highlighting the final line of the stanza, "Valleys in my mind in fabulous blue Lucernes". Another way in which diction impacts the poem is the author's extensive use of nature. He repreatedly mentions things such as growing, leaves, and flowers. This is effefctive because nature is always changing, from season to season or over time. The choice in diction helps to illuminate the ever changing definiton of beauty that people have.
The observative view in which Wilbur's language is phrased adds to the meaning behind his words. I agree that Wilbur believes the meaning of "beautiful" is what ever one sees it to be. He explains his view through careful observations of nature and the simple changes it incurrs, that create its beauty, in any situation. The tone is almost dreamy and very breezy, only adding to the ease of the language Wilbur uses to describe his surroundings.
The title of this poem is significant to its meaning. It can be read as the changes being beautiful, or how everything beautiful must change. I also agree that Wilbur is saying that beauty can be found everywhere by comparing nature and humanity. Furthermore, the beautiful language used by Wilbur helps enchance the poem. The "greenness deeper than anyone knows" not only relates humans to nature, but also puts a clear image in the reader's mind.
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