StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Beautiful Changes - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
In a metaphysical way, goodness is convertible with being, and a thing’s goodness is its being as that is the object of an inclination. As a dictum to during Aquinas’…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.5% of users find it useful
The Beautiful Changes
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Beautiful Changes"

Thomistic philosophy s that goodness, as a transcendental quality is foun din all categories of being. In a metaphysical way, goodness is convertible with being, and a thing’s goodness is its being as that is the object of an inclination. As a dictum to during Aquinas’ milieu, “the good is what everything desires” and universally, everything is good insofar as everything is a being. In essence, Wilbur’s statement that the ultimate character of things is comely and good is a recapitulation of this Thomistic view that centers on the perspective that everything that exists is good.

The absolute goodness of a thing is its perfection that is, having all the being it is supposed to have. “The Beautiful Changes” by Richard Wilbur has to be seen in this perspective, for much of his poem to make sense. However, it must be noted that the title of Wilbur’s seminal work in 1947 is “Beautiful Changes”, where everything seems to be in a state of flux and transformation is implied. This may be rooted from his experience, coming from a war stricken era, when he was wed in 1942 during the critical years of World War II, and many of his classmates in his university who had enlisted in the war had already been killed.

It is most probable that his formative outlook of the “universe” was triggered by this realization: when everything fades fast and you never know when loved ones will be taken from you, only then will you appreciate existence for what it is, and transcendentally accept that everything is good. In retrospect, we can analyze his poem as thus: that every movement of a thing, implying change, is a move to be more of itself, to perfect itself, and to ultimately be more good as is the pattern and shape of how things should be.

A fall meadow, should be waded from all sides eventually to clean it and prepare for the next season. A queen’s lace should fall gracefully like lilies on water. A chameleon naturally turns its skin and a mantis naturally stays on leaf and so on. Everything that seems to follow this notion of natural law is what makes everything more good and perfect. However, the more interesting reading of “The Beautiful Changes” by Wilbur makes the actions of man as a subject of his poem, as man is a thing in itself.

Hence the question of what makes a man good or more accurately what pattern and shapes must his energies follow for him to be perfected is proposed. From this standpoint, the most inquisitive answer that Wilbur puts forward is for man to be amazed at this world, to ever wonder and to give things more meaning than its face value, not only in the way we see objects but more importantly the way we see other people. How does “dry grass turn into a lake” is almost the same as asking, how can a simple man or a man with no remarkable abilities turn into a great man?

At first glance, one would never know a man can do so much more, can be so great because first impressions “valleys” our perception from something so great such as the fabulous city of Lucernes. A second look at people will show you that their interiority, memories, abilities and imagination is simply “deeper than anyone knows” and all the things can people do can make one lose a moment to wonder how can he or she can be so much more? In essence, these are the “beautiful changes” that one must personally in things and in people.

I personally agree with Richard Wilbur that everything, including people are naturally good and everything can be made “more good” from ones perspective if only one takes the time to wonder about that person. Rephrasing Wilbur’s statement, I feel that the universe is full of glorious energy from people, and that this energy takes pattern and shape, and that the ultimate character of people is comely and good.Works CitedWilbur, Richard. The Beautiful Changes by Richard Wilbur. 1947. 11 May 2012 .

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Beautiful Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
The Beautiful Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1596559-the-beautiful-changes
(The Beautiful Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
The Beautiful Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/literature/1596559-the-beautiful-changes.
“The Beautiful Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1596559-the-beautiful-changes.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Beautiful Changes

Architectural Criticism: Cypress at Byron Bay Designed by Award Winning Haysom Architects

The large gallery windows allow the friendly light to come in and lets you sync with the beautiful surroundings and yet it maintains the necessary distance from the surroundings to not to let anything invade your privacy.... The most beautiful part of the structure is however the merging of inner and outer spaces....
3 Pages (750 words) Article

Jack Finney's Time and Again

Si brings Julia to 1960s, where she is surprised to see how many changes time has brought to history and to the world.... The novel is a beautiful expression of how life has changed since 1882 in the New York City.... [Your full name] December 3, 2013 Novel Review In his novel, Time and Again, Jack Finney has beautifully juxtaposed two pictures of the New York City, one of present and the other of a hundred years back....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Capitalism Developing in Good Morning Beautiful Business by Judy Micks

The book review states that "Good Morning beautiful Business" is a book that does not only take the role of economic dynamics in the proliferation of small businesses but it also provides an empowering message that could transform an entire community or even an entire country economically.... hellip; Good Morning beautiful Business is a memoir about the progress of a small entrepreneur who, because of her effort to value people, nature, and place, brought a tremendous and wide-spread transformation of her own neighbourhood by “helping communities far and wide create local living economies that value people, nature and place” (Judy Wicks, 2013)....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

The Custom of the Country and The Beautiful and Damned

Two of the finest illustrations of the depiction of upper class young women can be traced in The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton and the beautiful and Damned by F.... The role of women in the modern world has greatly improved and this enhanced status of women has a major influence on the depiction of women in the modern fiction....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

James F. OGorman and Vitruvius Architectural Ideals

This is achieved when the materials used are of exceptional quality, which will give the building a beautiful look hence it is appealing to the eyes.... Proportionality will also give the building a beautiful look since the dimensions of the building will be the same hence contributing to stability and beauty....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Ancient Greek Architecture

Further developmental changes kept on taking place in the architectural styles of Greece.... With time further developmental changes kept on taking place in the architectural styles of Greece.... Above discussion and examples, show that archaic period has brought many changes in the Greek architecture and contributed to introduce new techniques and designs in the buildings and temples of Greece.... This architecture was famous because of its beautiful temples....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Donald Lipski's Art

Its beauty and grace is greatly enhanced when the butterfly beautifully, sophisticatedly and classically swaps the wings in the air and the beautiful colors are reflected down on the floor and the people moving down.... His beautiful works have been placed in various museums.... Another very famous and a beautiful structure is the Psyche- the Butterfly.... This beautiful structure has been placed in The Auraria Science Building....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Analysis of a Beautiful Mind

At the start when John was at the peak of his scientific ingenuity, the lighting is bright, but when problems set in, the producers have used a tinge of dark colors to highlight the changes.... This movie review "Analysis of a beautiful Mind" discusses an interesting movie about a schizophrenic mathematician, John Nash, who dedicates his all life to find a revolutionary formula that can change a life.... Half of the places and situations existing in his life are only part of his beautiful mind....
5 Pages (1250 words) Movie Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us