Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Richard Wilbur’s "A Late Aubade" is a charming and intimate reflection on leisure, love, and the defiance of societal expectations. Through playful language and a conversational tone, the poem subverts the traditional form of an aubade—a morning love poem lamenting the lovers’ impending separation. Instead, Wilbur’s speaker celebrates the pleasures of idleness and sensual connection, inviting the reader to savor the moment rather than adhere to the demands of productivity.

The poem begins by contrasting the current state of leisure with the mundane and uninspiring activities the addressee could otherwise be engaged in. The opening stanza humorously evokes a range of dutiful but joyless tasks: "You could be sitting now in a carrel / Turning some liver-spotted page, / Or rising in an elevator-cage / Toward Ladies? Apparel." The specificity of these examples paints a vivid picture of dull, routine tasks, emphasizing their banality and distance from the present, pleasurable moment. The "liver-spotted page" suggests dusty, outdated scholarly work, while the "elevator-cage" connotes entrapment, symbolizing the confinement of obligation. These images set up a playful opposition between duty and indulgence, positioning the latter as the poem’s clear preference.

The second stanza expands on these alternatives, presenting equally unappealing scenarios: "You could be planting a raucous bed / Of salvia, in rubber gloves, / Or lunching through a screed of someone?s loves / With pitying head." Here, Wilbur’s use of sensory and emotional detail reinforces the drudgery of these tasks. The "raucous bed / Of salvia" contrasts sharply with the serene intimacy of the lovers’ setting, while the "pitying head" reflects the emotional toll of social obligations. The humor and specificity of these imagined alternatives serve to elevate the speaker’s chosen state of idleness as an act of rebellion against the mundane.

In the third stanza, Wilbur’s rhetorical question, "Isn?t this better?" underscores the superiority of leisure and love over the responsibilities society often valorizes. The speaker’s tone is both affectionate and slightly mocking, inviting the addressee to recognize the absurdity of prioritizing obligations over pleasure. The stanza’s examples—training a reluctant dog, enduring a lecture on Schoenberg’s serialism—are deliberately chosen for their joylessness, further emphasizing the value of savoring the present moment.

The poem shifts slightly in the fourth stanza, where the speaker reframes the addressee’s leisurely choices as acts of wisdom and efficiency: "Think of all the time you are not / Wasting, and would not care to waste, / Such things, thank God, not being to your taste." The speaker adopts a mock-serious tone, suggesting that rejecting societal expectations is not laziness but rather a deliberate and rational choice. This playful defense of leisure as a meaningful use of time aligns with the broader theme of the poem, celebrating moments of connection and pleasure over the relentless demands of modern life.

In the fifth stanza, the speaker deepens the celebration of love and idleness: "Think what a lot / Of time, by woman’s reckoning, / You’ve saved, and so may spend on this, / You who had rather lie in bed and kiss / Than anything." The explicit praise of intimacy elevates the lovers’ shared time to an ideal worth cherishing. The phrase "by woman’s reckoning" humorously nods to the stereotypical association of women with time management, further emphasizing the speaker’s playful tone. The act of "lying in bed and kiss[ing]" becomes not merely indulgent but transformative—a reclaiming of time and a rejection of the mundane.

The poem’s closing stanzas gently acknowledge the passing of time without succumbing to the urgency often associated with an aubade. The speaker brushes aside the need to elaborate on traditional themes of carpe diem: "It’s almost noon, you say? If so, / Time flies, and I need not rehearse / The rosebuds-theme of centuries of verse." This self-aware dismissal of poetic convention reinforces the speaker’s relaxed and modern attitude toward time. There is no lamentation here, only a call to further enjoyment: "If you must go, / Wait for a while, then slip downstairs / And bring us up some chilled white wine, / And some blue cheese, and crackers, and some fine / Ruddy-skinned pears." This final request epitomizes the poem’s ethos, blending sensual pleasure, domestic comfort, and the refusal to rush.

Structurally, "A Late Aubade" employs quatrains with an ABBA rhyme scheme, creating a formal order that contrasts with its thematic celebration of unstructured time. This tension between form and content mirrors the poem’s central idea: finding beauty and freedom within constraints. Wilbur’s language is precise and evocative, using humor, sensory detail, and rhythm to capture the intimacy and joy of the lovers’ shared moment.

In "A Late Aubade," Wilbur transforms a traditional poetic form into a playful and modern affirmation of love and leisure. By rejecting the urgency and regret typical of aubades, the poem celebrates the value of slowing down, savoring the present, and prioritizing personal connection over societal expectations. Through its humor, vivid imagery, and gentle tone, the poem invites readers to consider their own relationship with time and pleasure, reminding us that sometimes the best use of our hours is simply to enjoy them.

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