Saturday, February 16, 2013

William Carlos Williams

The Great Figure

by William Carlos Williams

Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city.




Untitled

so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.





To a Poor Old Woman

by William Carlos Williams

munching a plum on 
the street a paper bag
of them in her hand
 
They taste good to her
They taste good 
to her. They taste
good to her
 
You can see it by
the way she gives herself
to the one half
sucked out in her hand
 
Comforted
a solace of ripe plums
seeming to fill the air
They taste good to her











Landscape With The Fall of Icarus









by William Carlos Williams






According to Brueghel


when Icarus fell


it was spring


 


a farmer was ploughing


his field


the whole pageantry


 


of the year was


awake tingling


near


 


the edge of the sea


concerned 


with itself


 


sweating in the sun


that melted


the wings' wax


 


unsignificantly


off the coast


there was


 


a splash quite unnoticed


this was


Icarus drowning
























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1 comment:








  1. Dakotah SeilerFebruary 19, 2013 at 6:57 AM
    I really wanted to talk about William Carlos Williams as a whole rather than focus on one poem. Williams is a great example of the use of symbols because it was entirely all he was focused on in the first place. Williams was fascinated with the very basic images around him and how they reflected the lifestyle of those around him. For example, in the poem, "Untitled", Williams discusses the image of a 'red' wheel barrow. There are literally only two concepts of color within the poem,"red" and "white". The two colors are very basic and because of this paint a more vivid image than the reader would expect such a short poem to provide. Williams is truly fascinated with the very basic descriptions of things and symbols in his society. While the red wheel barrow can mean a multitude of things when considering the connotations applicable to the color red or white during this time period, it manages to create a very clear image of what Williams is looking at. It is then up to the reader to decipher said symbols. So rather than flood the reader with a slew of symbols as many poets did before Williams, he merely manages to present a small selection of images and demands to evoke some feeling within his reader. 
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