William Carlos Williams

Out of all the famous poets we’ve read so far, I think I’ve enjoyed William Carlos Williams’ work the most. He had an interesting background as well, in the sense that he did not go to school for English or writing, but went to medical school and was a doctor that wrote poems on the side. It’s nice to see the cross between these two different fields. He had a mixed heritage, which made him feel like a “quintessential American” (p. 1751) and encouraged him to celebrate the cultural diversity of the country. I also appreciate this aspect of his work as well, since they are light-hearted and celebrations of life and its beauty. I knew about the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow,” which is probably taught in every poetry class or the poetry section of an English class. And when we talk about this poem it’s always related to this idea that it has some great meaning or critique of America. The colors make up the American flag and there’s some deep significance behind the wheel / barrow and the rain and the chickens. It’s probably the most famous (overused) of his work, similar to Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” but they both have a lot of other great poems to read. I really liked the flowers and petals that appear throughout Williams’ different pieces. His poems have a sort of light humor to them, such as in “Dance Russe” where the speaker desires to strip off all his clothes while his family sleeps and sing of his loneliness. This bizarre and airy lyrical style seems to be more in his earlier work, as in “Portrait of a Lady.” It sounds like a conversation between the speaker and a beautiful woman he is trying to flirt with, which is this painting of a woman. While he tries to compliment her, he is interrupted by these questions of “Which sky?” and “Which shore?” which throw off his focus. In the end, he says “How should I know? / Which shore? Which shore? / I said petals from an appletree” (l. 19-21). He becomes fed up with trying to paint his own poetic version of this woman, since he can’t capture its beauty and distinction with mere descriptions. Perhaps Williams is having a little fun by trying to translate this painting into a poem, but finds that he cannot so easily create an enticing narrative for her.

In Williams’ later poems, he plays around more with grammar, form, and punctuation. My favorite poem is “The Pink Locust,” which continues on his petals/flowers motif. The speaker starts out by saying “I’m persistent as the pink locust, / once admitted / to the garden, / you will not easily get rid of it” (l. 1-4). Although flowers are typically seen as fragile and perishable, the speaker emphasizes the strength that flowers possess. The pink locust, a feminine symbol, follows its own rules and own desires. The delicacy of the flower doesn’t go away, but it doesn’t mean that the flower is weak. In fact, it is “incredibly resilient / under attack!” (l. 39-40). The poem seems to reflect Williams’ insecurities about poetry and being a poet, yet he perseveres, like the persistent pink locust, who will not give up even in the face of harsh criticism or doubt. And it is through this flower that he asserts his place in the garden of poets.