Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Richard Wilbur's "The House" explores themes of longing, love, and the elusive nature of dreams. The poem tells the story of a woman who dreams of a "white house" that she has "held no title to," and which she has "not entered yet, for all her sighs." Her description of the house includes vivid, evocative details such as a "white gatepost," "terrace," and a "widow's walk above the bouldered shore," among other features. The speaker, presumably her lover or close confidant, navigates the terrain of his own hope and sorrow, contemplating the likelihood of her being in that dreamed house "wherever there may be."

The poem opens with the woman's wistful reflection upon waking from her dream. She "closes her eyes / For a last look" at the house, indicating that even as she wakes into the world of reality, a part of her remains tethered to that dream realm. The lines "held no title to, / And had not entered yet, for all her sighs" suggest a yearning, an unfulfilled desire for something-perhaps a different life, an unreachable peace-that remains tantalizingly out of reach.

The setting of the house is coastal, as suggested by details like the "bouldered shore" and "Salt winds." The natural elements around the house-wind, firs, shore-create a sense of timelessness and eternal beauty, contributing to its dream-like quality. The "widow's walk" is particularly evocative, suggesting a history or a narrative related to loss and longing; it paints an image of someone waiting for a return that may never happen, a sentiment that resonates with the woman's own emotional state.

The final stanza contemplates the woman's current location, "wherever there may be," and the speaker acknowledges the futility of trying to locate a dream's geography in reality: "Only a foolish man would hope to find / That haven fashioned by her dreaming mind." Yet, despite recognizing the futility of his quest, the speaker can't help but search for her, as he confesses, "Night after night, my love, I put to sea." The sea here is a symbol for the boundless, mysterious depths of human emotion and the unknown. Just as the woman dreams of a house she can't enter, the speaker searches for her every night in the abyss of his own hopes and dreams.

Overall, "The House" captures the exquisite pain and beauty of yearning, both for places that exist only in our dreams and for the people who populate those dreams. The house serves as a metaphor for unattainable desires, for the perfect yet elusive peace that both the woman and her lover seek. It serves as a reminder that the landscapes of our dreams are often the terrains of our deepest emotions and desires-places we can describe but never truly inhabit.

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