The Juggler Poem Analysis Essay

“To shake our gravity up. Whee, in the air. The balls roll around, wheel on his wheeling hands.” (7-8) The juggler is given the power to “shake gravity.” The writer is someone in the audience watching the juggler at the show. The audience is watching the juggler and it gives off a sense of awe. Also, imagery is used because of how one can visualize the juggler. “It takes a sky-blue juggler with five red balls.” (6) Overall, it is evident the juggler has power over the audience and imagery is used to convey that message. This imagery supports the idea that life should be thoroughly enjoyed because the audience is just enjoying the show at its good and bad moments.

Figurative language is another evident strategy Wilbur uses to convey his message that people tend to take the world for granted and life should be enjoyed. Throughout the poem there is an extended metaphor that compares the juggler to god because of the power instilled in him. Repetition is used to emphasize certain things in the poem. “The balls roll around, wheel on his wheeling hands.” (8) Wheel is repeated to help the reader visualize the movement of the balls. There is also consonance in the poem. “Resents its own resilience.” (2) These figurative language techniques are effective in conveying Wilbur’s message because certain things are emphasized using repetition or consonance which will make the reader think.

Once thoroughly analyzed, Wilbur’s tone is also emphasizing that life should be enjoyed and people don’t appreciate our world enough. The tone fluctuates throughout the poem. The first stanza, Wilbur walks about how everyone knows about the world and how that makes it less special. He changes from using words like “resilience” and “brilliance” and then later talks about how the world is “settled” and forgotten.” The tone starts by being amazed by the brilliance of the world and then it shifts to being underappreciated and dissatisfied.

Richard Wilbur’s poem “The Juggler” can be analyzed in many different ways. One could perceive the juggler as a supernatural being or just a normal performer who has almost a hypnotic effect to his audience. A message Wilbur could be trying to get across is that the beauty of the world is underappreciated and he wants to emphasize that life should be enjoyed. He gets this message across by using imagery, figurative language, and tone.