Richard Wilbur's The Death Of A Toad

Although most people realize that death is a tragic part of life, very few are impacted by deaths outside of anything not considered to be “human”. In his poem, “The Death of a Toad”, Richard Wilbur gives an example to show the unsympathetic actions of humans toward their environment. In the poem, Wilbur gives many depictions of the violence of man and the beauty of the untouched world through his use of imagery as well as somber diction in order to illustrate the ongoing war of nature versus machine.
Wilbur begins by using alliteration such as “chewed and clipped” and “hobbling hop” in order to bring to light his first theme: nature versus machine. The toad brings a sense of beauty to the lawn, but after machinery is introduced to “beautify” it, the toad is murdered -- this is a symbol of the end of natural beauty and the beginning of manufactured beauty. Wilbur also uses imagery to gain the attention of the reader in the form of “ashen heart shaped leaves.” The frog’s heart is ashen and dry due to the loss of blood from the cut he …show more content…
Man is to blame for the horrible acts brought upon nature because it is man who is controlling the machines. The lawn mower in its natural state is inanimate; therefore, man activates it and “castrates” the lawn in order to make nature more visually appealing in his eyes. Wilbur conveys this using the same somber diction prevalent throughout the poem. The toad’s heart’s blood is flowing as it lies on the “earthen hide, in the folds and wizenings.” Through Wilbur’s word choice, it becomes difficult to believe anything other than that man is cruel and heartless. Wilbur goes on to say that the toad lies “as still as if he would return to stone,” directly contrasting the originally liveliness of the toad with a stagnant and resigned version that man has reduced it to; man has taken the toad’s “heartsblood”, or in other words, the essence of what it once