Read the poem “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World” By Richard Wilbur and answer the following questions:

1. What are the "angels" in line 5? Why does this metaphor seem appropriate to the situation?

2. What is "the punctual rape of every blessed day"? Who is being raped? Who or what commits the rape? Why would Wilbur choose this particular word with all its violent associations?

3. Whom or what does the soul love in line 23, and why is that love bitter?

4. Is it merely obesity that makes the nuns' balance "difficult" in the two final lines of the poem? What other "balance" does Wilbur's poem suggest?

5. The soul has two speeches in the poem. How do they differ in tone and imagery?

6. The spiritual world is traditionally considered invisible. What concrete images does Wilbur use to express its special character?