At first glance, Wilbur's poem seems to be almost easy to understand. Wilbur's implementation of images in a brutal format is well received, but it can't be that simple. The poet uses elaborate forms of literary devices in order to create a deeper atmosphere than the reader's original interpretation. This atmosphere is created immediately in the first stanza of Wilbur's poem. Syntax, structure, and imagery are the underlying elements that bring the poet's message to life. The speaker faces a life-changing conflict when he witnesses the death of a toad. From the beginning, the poet uses an intriguing literary device to invoke slight confusion in the reader's basic understanding of the poetry. He uses a dactyl to create perplexity in the reader's pronunciation. Although the words "power" and "mower" are pronounced differently, the stressed syllables are essentially the same. Using a dactyl in a calm poem like this can evoke a macabre and solemn connotation to the overall context. Along the same lines, Wilbur's syntax adds an extra level of comprehension ability on the reader's side. Rather than writing "The electric lawnmower caught a toad," Wilbur decides to change the grammatical order of the line to engage the reader's mind with the speaker's point of view. In a sense, Wilbur is able to put the reader in the speaker's shoes when he describes the unfortunate and serious events that occur. The poet manipulates the syntax of the piece to allow the reader to ask questions about the speaker and what appears to be the conflict. As the lines become clearer, the plot behind the poem is revealed and the reader is confronted with a dismal depiction of the toad's death in correspondence with the speaker's views. Som...... middle of paper ......per into the death of the toad to look in more detail at how the toad died and the reasoning behind the diction the author decides to use. Imagery is the most compelling of the three elements that make up this poem, because the imagery uses all of the elements within itself. The last line of the first stanza uses the same syntax as the first line of the first stanza. It also uses the same structure as all the last lines of the last two stanzas. Finally, he uses imagery in the same way it is used throughout the poem. “Down and one last clearing.” (6) Essentially, the poet's intention was to explain the speaker's emotional pain while using a parallel structure to compare the life of a human to that of a toad. People will be torn in all directions throughout their lives, and ultimately rest in peace while the rest of the world ponders death...