is characterized negatively as ‘‘the punctual rape
of every blessed day’’: the implication is that the`
day would be much better off if left alone from
the sudden appearance of human consciousness.
The last half of stanza 4 represents the soul
speaking, personifying the general attitude of the
human situation. It gives a cry begging for sim-
plicity in life, for the physical world to be noth-
ing but physical motion, without any spiritual
involvement. The mention of ‘‘the sight of
heaven’’ in line 20 shows that the human spirit
does not wish to believe that the supernatural
beings do not exist, but is only uncomfortable
with the idea of heavenly powers being involved
in life on earth, interacting with and affecting the
natural processes in the form of angels.
Stanza 5
Stanza 5 acknowledges the complexity of the
human situation. While the previous stanza
showed how afraid the soul was of facing the
physical world, this stanza reverses that equa-
tion, looking at what is heartening and inviting
about the physical world. It starts with the sun,
warm and bright, showing the shapes of physical
objects (described, plainly but not negatively, as
‘‘hunks’’) and their colors.
In the middle of this stanza, the soul, which
has been the observer since the end of stanza 3, is
united with the body as it awakens. This union is
described as being a common event, happening
regularly. The mood of the union between soul
and body is said to be one of ‘‘bitter love,’’ a
description that captures the entire poem’s
point about the begrudging alliance between
the physical world and spiritual awareness.
In line 25, the poem refers to the observer
who has been feeling all of these mixed emotions
as ‘‘the man.’’ In holding back this particular
wording, Wilbur makes his point about the
soul and body being separate, distinct entities,
and the human being, the combination of the
two, being a separate, third entity unto itself.
Stanza 6
The entire last stanza of ‘‘Love Calls Us to the
Things of This World’’ is a quote that reflects the
new attitude of the observer who has been
brought to reconsider the moral nature of the
world around him. A parallel is drawn between
thieves who are on the gallows to be executed
and angels, as the man thinks that the con-
demned criminals deserve linens just as much as
the heavenly spirits. Lovers, who often represent
a moral contradiction as they balance between
the transcendent aspects of romance and the
baseness of carnal relationships, are acknowl-
edged to be simultaneously ‘‘fresh and sweet’’
and also ‘‘undone.’’ Nuns, who are traditionally
thought of for their spirituality, are at the same
time considered ‘‘heav[y,]’’ with an emphasis on
their physical presence.
The last line of the poem refers to the ‘‘diffi-
cult balance’’ that all of these people, from varied
walks of life, need to strike in order to survive.
Throughout its entire length, ‘‘Love Calls Us to
the Things of This World’’ calls attention to how
very different the physical world is from the
spiritual world. In the end, it points to how
that difference does not have to be a problem,
how it can be accepted and celebrated, if it is
handled with the right amount of care.Themes
Flesh versus Spirit
Even a casual reading of ‘‘Love Calls Us to the
Things of This World’’ will lead one to conclude
that the central point the poem is investigating is
the basic distinction between the physical world
that can be experienced by the five senses and the
spiritual world that can only be experienced
through intuition. Wilbur uses two basic sym-
bols to characterize these two aspects: laundry
and angels.
When philosophers and theologians discuss
the contrast between these two spheres of reality,
they often use phrases like ‘‘flesh versus spirit’’ or
‘‘mind versus body.’’ These common expressions
reflect the most basic and personal cases in
which most people face this issue. Everyone has
a body and everyone has thoughts, but, though
the two always exist together, there is no clear,
definitive relationship between them. The mind
seems to influence the body and the body, par-
ticularly the brain, seems to affect the mind, but
no scientist has ever shown exactly how they are
connected.
Instead of referring to the human body to
represent the physical world, Wilbur starts the
poem using laundry as the poem’s central image.
For one thing, making readers think about laun-
dry removes the emotional attachment that
comes with talking about being human: it is
easier to think objectively about laundry becauseLove Calls Us to the Things of This World