Jan 8, 2009

Advice to a Prophet | Advice to a Prophet

At a glance:

Author: Richard Wilbur
First Published: 1961
Type of Work: Lyric
Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
Subjects: Twentieth century, Nature, Human race, War, Bible, biblical imagery, or biblical symbolism, Prophecy or prophets, End of the world, Nuclear warfare or weapons, Transcendentalism, Arms or weapons

The Poem

“Advice to a Prophet” is composed of nine quatrains with an abba rhyme scheme. The formal structure of the poem is appropriate to its serious content. Richard Wilbur begins the poem by addressing a hypothetical prophet who needs to appear in reality to persuade the human race to eliminate the weapons of twentieth century warfare, which can annihilate life on earth. The poet imagines that the prophet, when he states this danger, will be “mad-eyed” from being ignored. Consequently, the prophet needs the poet’s advice on how to tell the truth in effective...

[The entire page is 1414 words long]

Advice to a Prophet | Advice to a Prophet

At a glance:

The Poem

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