One of the foremost poets, along with his friend Anthony Hecht, of the World War II generation, Wilbur's work, often employing rhyme, and composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentlemanly elegance.

He was acclaimed in his youth as the heir to Robert Frost, translated the verse dramas of Moliere, Corneille, and Racine into rhymed English,[1] collaborated with Leonard Bernstein as the lyricist for the opera Candide,[2] and in his old age acted, particularly through his role in the annual West Chester University Poetry Conference, as a mentor to the younger poets of the New Formalist movement.

[8][9] He received two Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and taught at Amherst College as late as 2009,[10] where he also served on the editorial board of the literary magazine The Common.

Wilbur was also a translator, specializing in the 17th century French comedies of Molière and dramas of Jean Racine.

His translation of Tartuffe has become the play's standard English version and has been presented on television twice (a 1978 production is available on DVD).

Continuing the tradition of Robert Frost and W. H. Auden, Wilbur's poetry finds illumination in everyday experiences.

He provided lyrics to several songs in Leonard Bernstein's 1956 musical Candide, including the famous "Glitter and Be Gay" and "Make Our Garden Grow".