Williams: Queen Ann's Lace

Queen Ann's Lace

Her body is not so white as
anemony petals(a flower) nor so smooth—nor
so remote a thing. It is a field
of the wild carrot taking
the field by force; the grass
does not raise above it.
Here is no question of whiteness,
white as can be, with a purple mole
at the center of each flower.
Each flower is a hand’s span
of her whiteness. Wherever
his hand has lain there is
a tiny purple blemish. Each part
is a blossom under his touch
to which the fibres of her being
stem one by one, each to its end,
until the whole field is a
white desire, empty, a single stem,
a cluster, flower by flower,
a pious wish to whiteness gone over—
or nothing.

Queen Ann's Lace it a type of weed that grows wild. It has a purple center.

Anemones are a beautiful flower also with a purple center.

Queen-Anne’s-Lace is a poem about a woman who he is comparing to a weed of the same name as the title.  It is interesting that Williams chooses to compare her to the “wild carrot”, the common name of the weed, and not to an actual flower because as pretty as the Queen-Anne’s-Lace is, it is still just a weed.  To make it worse, he calls her even less than a plant in the first line; “Her body is not so white…nor as smooth-nor/ so remote a thing” So, she may not be pretty, but she is the nearest thing in his vicinity.  This brings into question why he is even writing about her if she does not seem significant.

He compares her to a field of these flowers, which is conquering and spreading, choking out the grass around it as weeds typically do.  He does not like this woman for her looks, but rather because she puts herself above every other woman, she is better than them in some way.  In this regard, her whiteness, or purity, does not matter to him. This is evident in line 7, “Here is no question of whiteness,” However, at the end of the poem he contradicts this; “a pious wish to whiteness gone over–/or nothing” Line 20.  “Or nothing” is the strongest, albeit the shortest line, in the poem.  This contradiction to all the pretty things he actually does say about her nulls everything. It says that he wants her to be either pure or dead so that no one else may have her and blemish her again.

We know it is a person who has given her these blemishes because in line 12 he specifically says that “…Wherever/ his hand has lain there is/ a tiny purple blemish.”  A part of the Queen-Anne’s-Lace is the purple center, but he uses this purple eye of the flower to connote that whether it’s natural or man-given baggage, it still shows impurity, something that he does not want on his woman.

When Williams continues to compare her to a field in the latter part of the poem, the flowers have now taken over the entire field instead of fighting for control.  By the time she makes herself pure and he wants her because she is completely white – pure, she no longer has personality. She is “empty”, line 18.

The conflict in this poem is Williams’ attraction to this woman who is not physically attractive.  She has a history, giving her some sort of emotional baggage, and he wants her to be pure. However, the entire reason he finds her attractive is the chip on her shoulder and the fight that she has within, making her better than every other woman.  If she were to be pure, she would not have this fight, this edge, and he would no longer find her attractive, forming a conundrum for his lust.

For another view see

http://web.stanford.edu/group/journal/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hall_Hum_2003.pdf

Williams: Portrait of a Lady

William Carlos Williams, "Portrait of a Lady" (first published in the Dial, August 1920)

Your thighs are appletrees 
whose blossoms touch the sky. 
Which sky? The sky 
where Watteau hung a lady's 
slipper. Your knees 
are a southern breeze -- or 
a gust of snow. Agh! what 
sort of man was Fragonard? 
-- As if that answered 
anything. -- Ah, yes. Below 
the knees, since the tune 
drops that way, it is 
one of those white summer days, 
the tall grass of your ankles 
flickers upon the shore -- 
Which shore? -- 
the sand clings to my lips -- 
Which shore? 
Agh, petals maybe. How 
should I know? 
Which shore? Which shore? 
-- the petals from some hidden 
appletree -- Which shore? 
I said petals from an appletree. 

Portrait of a Lady" (1920) ventures more openly into erotic contemplation, a subject that embroiled Williams in domestic conflict with his wife, who harbored no illusions about his fidelity. The poet-speaker attempts to locate the source of female loveliness by fluctuating between metaphor and artistic representations of womanhood. Moving downward from thighs to ankles, his mind debates breaching the "shore," a euphemism for propriety (having sex). At the poem's climax in line 15, sand at the lips yanks the admirer earthward. After he returns to the polite abstraction of apple blossom petals, his better judgment urges him to write sedate, nonsexual verse. 

If u want to read several views on this poem read this cite (technical language)

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/williams/lady.htm 

Williams:The Rose

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS STUPID POEM MEANS YASSINE !

This cite will help but it is technical. The Rose starts on page 2

https://www.rivier.edu/journal/ROAJ-Fall-2008/J207-Lizotte-Master.pdf






THE ROSE

The rose is obsolete
but each petal ends in
an edge, the double facet
cementing the grooved
columns of air--The edge
cuts without cutting
meets--nothing--renews
itself in metal or porcelain--

whither? It ends--

But if it ends
the start is begun
so that to engage roses
becomes a geometry--

Sharper, neater, more cutting
figured in majolica--
the broken plate
glazed with a rose

Somewhere the scene
makes copper roses
steel roses--

The rose carried weight of love
but love is at an end--of roses

It is at the edge of the
petal that love waits

Crisp, worked to defeat
laboredness--fragile
plucked, moist, half-raised
cold, precise, touching

What

The place between the petal's
edge and the

From the petal's edge a line starts
that being of steel
infinitely fine, infinitely
rigid penetrates
the Milky Way
without contact--lifting
from it--neither hanging
nor pushing
The fragility of the flower
unbruised
penetrates space

[1923]

Williams: The Great Figure

The Great Figure
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.

See: http://eddy1994.weebly.com/uploads/5/2/9/8/5298857/the_great_figure.doc

Line 1
Among the rain

In a poem this short, every word counts, so let's take 'em one by one.
The first word, "Among," has a strange sound when you repeat it to yourself. It means "surrounded by" or "in the midst of" multiple things.
If you isolate the phrase "Among the rain," as Williams does, the words do not quite make sense. They have a jarring effect, because "Among" refers to being in the presence of multiple things, and "the rain" is only one thing.
"Among the raindrops," for example, would make grammatical sense.
"Among" carries the suggestion of being in a group of people. There is the faint impression, then, that "the rain" is like a person or a crowd.
Line 2
and lights

The first line of the poem could have been set anywhere outdoors, but the second line puts us near human society – likely in a city.
Now the word "among" suddenly makes sense, because we have multiple objects. We've got a crowd on our hands: the rain, the lights, and maybe some other object that we'll learn about shortly.
Williams is setting the stage, as if he were about to present a drama. The setting is atmospheric, like a 1940s film noir movie or the game Heavy Rain. To complete the association, we'd only need to be shown someone lighting a cigarette in a trench coat under an umbrella.
The combination of the rain and lights makes for an interesting sight: the lights illuminate the individual droplets of rain as they fall down.
Line 3
I saw the figure 5

The observer of the poem's drama makes his entrance here: "I."
Next comes the appearance of the first verb: "saw." Not a terribly exciting verb, it places the speaker in a passive position relative to the scene.
But what comes after "saw" gets our attention: "the figure 5." This expression would be intriguing even if the poem were not called "The Great Figure."
A "figure" is like a symbol: a word or image that represents something else. A number is one of the most common types of figures. The number five is expressed as the figure "5." At the most basic level, "5" is just a drawing that can represent five of anything: candy bars, guinea pigs, cars, etc.
Aren't we just blowing you away with these complicated ideas?
Line 4
in gold

The figure 5 is in gold lettering. Either the number is painted in gold, or this is real gold. Maybe he's looking in a jewelry store window?
The gold number contrasts with the somewhat chaotic, even depressing surroundings. Also, a gold number seems like some kind of good-luck charm. Maybe the speaker should rush out to the casino and put all his money on "5" at the roulette table!
Lines 5-6
on a red
firetruck

Like puzzle pieces falling into place, the gold number suddenly makes sense. The speaker is looking at the number painted gold on the side or back of a fire truck.
Williams contrasts the colors red and gold here, much like he contrasted the "red wheel barrow" with "white chickens" in "The Red Wheelbarrow."
By now the reader is trying to reconcile the almost mythic importance the poem has given the gold number with the conventional, everyday setting in which it appears. What is so "great" about a number on a fire truck?

Line 7
moving

Again, every word in this poem adds new information, as the scene builds piece by piece. The line breaks create time to digest the language.
The poem slows down in the middle, as if to watch the fire truck pass.
We did not know that the truck was moving until now. Is it whooshing past the speaker, or has it already overtaken him?
Here's an interesting question: what is the subject of the verb "moving"? Is it the fire truck or the figure 5?
Lines 8-9
tense
unheeded

These are the most "figurative" lines in the poem; that is, the language here cannot be taken literally.
Williams continues the slow-motion effect of one-word lines.
The question we asked about line 7 – whether it was the figure or the fire truck moving – becomes even more important here. Is it the figure 5 or the truck that is "tense" and "unheeded"?
Try flexing all your muscles at once and walking around the room. That's one example of "tense" movement.
Of course, "tense" does not describe a kind of movement so much as the general atmosphere, or perhaps even the speaker. Think of how your body tenses up when a loud fire truck go by. Everyone is trying to stay out of its way, and because fire trucks do not have to obey normal traffic laws, they always seem slightly out of control.
"Unheeded" means "neglected" or "ignored." No one is paying attention to whatever it is that is moving (either the number or the fire truck). At this point, we think it makes more sense for the number to be "unheeded," because it is such a small part of the truck. Few people would notice such a number, but everyone would notice the truck. But you can make up your own mind about that.
Lines 10-11
to gong clangs
siren howls

These lines give an idea of why a part of the fire truck would be "unheeded." There is so much noise and commotion coming from the truck that it's hard to pay attention to anything else.
The sounds completely overwhelm the visual aspects of the scene.
The "gong" refers to the large bell fixed to the fire truck. (Nowadays, fire trucks have electronic sirens and horns, but in Williams's time there would have been a physical bell.)
But a "gong" is also an Asian musical instrument that you hit with a mallet to make a percussive sound. (You might associate them with bad kung fu movies.) Williams was very interested in Asian art and religion, and this poem resembles forms of Asian poetry like the haiku.
In addition to the gong, the truck has a siren that "howls." It's as if the poem has been silent this whole time, and suddenly Williams has turned off the "mute" button to unleash a cacophony of sound.
The word "to" suggests that all these sounds are like a musical accompaniment to the movement of the truck.
Lines 12-13
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city.

Line 12 continues to emphasize how much noise the fire truck is making and why this noise might distract normal people – people who are not as perceptive as the speaker – from the "great figure."
The ominous word "rumbling" conveys a sense of the large size of the truck and also suggests thunder. It's as if the lights and sound of the man-made truck have taken over the role of thunder and lightning in the rainstorm.
In the final line, the scene returns to darkness. You might be surprised by the description of the "dark city" after the mention of "lights" in line 2.
Williams finally confirms that we are in a city.
Notice that the lines get longer again toward the end of the poem.
The scene seems surprisingly empty and lonely now that the fire truck has passed by

Williams: Poem (As the cat)

Poem (As the cat)
by William Carlos Williams
As the cat
climbed over
the top of

the jamcloset
first the right
forefoot

carefully
then the hind
stepped down

into the pit of
the empty
flower pot

For a good analysis see: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-language/analysing-the-poetry-of-william-carlos-williams-english-language-essay.php

William Carlos Williams arranged this poem in a particular way – to understand it we must figure out what the form has to do with the piece.

So the line “As the cat” prompts us to ask “As the cat did what?”

As the cat climbed over what?
As the cat climbed over the top of the jamcloset – how?

first the right forefoot: This is where a clever and experienced reader of poetry will understand the joke William Carlos Williams is making.

By engaging in the questions posed by the line breaks and stanzas – we recognize with the line “forefoot” that the poem is representative of poetry itself.

Poems are broken down into metrical feet, of which there are several types, and the cat’s journey is a metaphor for poetry – the cat places its foot across a landscape, just as a poet places feet in a poem (see the lessons in Prosody).




This poem seems to be just about a cat walking into a flower pot, but I think that it is a metaphor for life. Most people walk carefully into the unknown just like the cat does.


Stepped down – into what?
The cat climbed on top of the jamcloset carefully and then stepped down into what?

ntributor
Here, the cat made a bad step with its foot – essentially William Carlos Williams is joking that he has made a bad poem (although it’s really a very good poem) by saying he misplaced a foot in the poetry.

#Note:

Poems titled poems are almost always signaling they are metaphors for poetry itself, which is the hint William Carlos Williams gives an experienced poetry reader to allow one to understand the “foot” joke

William Carlos Williams: The Red Wheelbarrow

The Red Wheelbarrow


William Carlos Williams, 1883 - 1963

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

After reading this poem, it's hard to see a red wheelbarrow or hear the words "red wheelbarrow" without thinking of William Carlos William. He uses minimal words to get his message across. Williams, being an Imagist, includes a vivid imagery in his writing. An important detail in his imagery is the colors of the objects he describes. He writes of the “red” wheelbarrow, the “white” chickens, and rain water, which is usually defined as being blue.

Language in 'The Red Wheelbarrow'


The most famous poem by Williams is called 'The Red Wheelbarrow.' He wrote it one day after seeing a red wheelbarrow and white chickens in the backyard of an old, poor man who had worked hard his whole life.

he first thing you might notice about this poem is that it doesn't have any long words. Because Williams was writing about an everyday scene, he used everyday language. The lines sound like Williams might have said them to a buddy if they were just standing around observing the scene in the yard.

Again, this is an example of Williams using simplified language. Think about the description in the poem: it's of something ordinary, a red wheelbarrow in a backyard, and Williams is trying to show how even something normal like that can be special. The language he uses is just like the scene he describes: both ordinary and important.


Williams was part of a subset of modernism called imagism. Imagist writers believed that describing images was even more important than talking about big philosophical ideas. In Williams' own words, imagists believed that there are 'no ideas but in things.' In other words, the images a poet uses are what give meaning to the poem.

As a poem, 'The Red Wheelbarrow' reflects these ideas of imagism. Its focus is almost entirely on a simple, bare description of a tableau, or scene. The only part of the poem that isn't a part of this description is the first two lines, 'so much depends/upon.'

If you're wondering why you should care about a poem that's just about a red wheelbarrow, these two lines offer you a reason: it's not just about a red wheelbarrow - it's about something else. And with these opening lines, Williams issues a challenge to his readers. He dares them to figure out what else the poem is about.

There are lots of theories. Some people believe that Williams is commenting on the functionality of the wheelbarrow - the way it allows people to move things from one place to another easily. Others think it has to do with things seeming fresh and glowing after a literal or figurative storm. Still others believe that it's about how hard the old man who owned the wheelbarrow worked during his life.

How can so many people disagree on what the poem is about? That's because Williams leaves it vague. Whether you agree with one of the above interpretations or whether you have your own idea of why 'so much depends upon' that red wheelbarrow, the point is that Williams doesn't make his poem clear. He's issuing a challenge to his readers: 'You figure out why the red wheelbarrow is important, because I'm not going to tell you!'

This attitude became very common in poetry; even almost a century after Williams wrote 'The Red Wheelbarrow,' poets still use this type of writing. Poems today are often deliberately left vague and open to interpretation. So if you find it hard to understand what poets are talking about, you can thank William Carlos Williams for making readers think!

William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams was a poet known for making ordinary items seem extraordinary through his imagery.

William Carlos Williams was a poet known for making ordinary items seem extraordinary through his imagery.

William Carlos Williams was born on September 17, 1883, in Rutherford, New Jersey. With his mother from Puerto Rico and his father from New York, Williams grew up speaking Spanish as well as English and French

Williams' goal with his writing was to reveal the American experience through introspection of seemingly plain or ordinary subjects. His imagistic writing is thought to have sparked the Imagist movement in literature. Drawing from his experiences with his patients as a doctor, Williams incorporates American idioms and urban colloquialisms into his poetry. His writing is deceptively casual, as readers have come to know that his words mean more than they appear to. Williams is also considered a visual poet, as he was just as aware of how the words appeared on the page. He was known to constantly experiment and push boundaries in rhythm and form.

In 1955, Williams had his third stroke, which left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak. This did not stop him from writing. He was able teach himself how to speak again and type with his one functioning hand, though his writing slowed down significantly. On March 4, 1963, Williams died, leaving behind his wife and two sons

His work became greatly influential on the new generation of American poets.