Carlos Williams Use Of Imagery In Poetry

William Carlos Williams poems are greatly influenced by the imagery involved throughout them. The forms of the poems help to convey the themes of each, as well as highlighting their major points. The four poems I’m going to look at are “The Red Wheelbarrow”, “Portrait of a Lady”, “Danse Russe”, and “This Is Just To Say”. Each of these poems has specific examples of William Carlos Williams use of imagery and form. The poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” was written in 1923. Although the poem is only eight lines, it has very clear imagery throughout it. The poem is composed of one sentence broken up at various intervals, which make the poem have a very clear image. The image of the wheelbarrow is displayed in its most basic parts in the third and forth lines. The break between the two words wheel and barrow bring particular attention to a wheelbarrows most basic parts. The word “glazed” gives the wheelbarrow a fresh look in the poem. It plays on the emotion that the wheelbarrow is new and shiny, even though it might be old, the rain gives it a “glazed” look which makes it look new. The main focus of this poem is the “red wheelbarrow”, and this is truly pointed out in the first line of the poem “so much depends upon”. The poem “Portrait of a Lady” was written in 1934. You
can tell from the beginning of the poem that he is talking about a women’s sexuality. He describes her thighs as appletrees, her knees as a southern breeze or a gust of snow. Each of these descriptions gives the poem an exotic tone. The theme of the poem is the women’s body. The way he uses beautiful imagery to describe the women’s body makes it seem like he loved her very much. As you get towards the end of the poem and he is asking “which shore? Which shore? I said petals from an appletree.” makes it seem like he has lost some he loves and cannot get them back. The term “which shore?” makes it seem like the imagery of a deserted island, that the same is stuck on, away from the one he loves. The poem “Danse Russe” was written in 1917. The poem starts off talking about everyone being asleep in the house. The imagery of the sun as a “flame-white disc” gives you the image of the sun almost being gone from the sky. When the poem describes the silken mists it makes you picture a heavy mist dancing around the trees making the night look evil. When he goes on to describe the man dancing naked, and grotesquely in front of the mirror it makes you picture some kind of ritual. The man is alone, and lonely even though his family is sleeping in the house. The yellow drawn shades give you the impression that the man is alone or withdrawn, yet he admires everything about himself. He views himself as “the happy genius” which implies that he feels everyone should be like him. The poem “This Is Just To Say” was written in 1934.
This seems to be a very simple poem. The poem is more like a letter written to someone to tell them that they have eaten their plums. There are many other ways to interpret this poem, such as the betrayal of a friendship. One friend has betrayed the others trust by stealing the plums from their icebox. There are many ways that this poem can be seen. The “plums” in the poem can represent many things such as friendship, love, or anything that can be stolen. The poem is about something being stolen between two good friends. Yet the last four lines of the poem have a sarcastic undertone which seems to me to imply that the apology is not very
sincere. In conclusion, these poems are full of imagery which helps to enhance the way we view them. After reading the poems several times the imagery and form helped to interpret the way the viewed the message of the poems. The underlying message in the poem “This Is Just To Say” was that of betraying a friendship or trust that someone has given you. This is represented through the imagery of a plum being stolen. The use of an everyday object to display such a complex thing as betrayal makes it easier for people to understand. The poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” is also a very interesting poem. The use of imagery throughout the poem helps to make the old wheelbarrow look new with the use of the rain making the wheelbarrow look “glazed”. The form of this poem is also very important because it breaks the work wheelbarrow down into its most basic parts, wheel and barrow, using the separation of the lines. Overall the poems themes would not be conveyed if the form and imagery did not highlight the main points throughout each poem.