William Carlos Williams' Progressing Views of Women

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William Carlos Williams is a leader of the Modern Poetry movement with peers such as Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, but broke away from it to experiment more in his own style. He was extremely creative, playing with forms and styles of writing and not restricting himself to poetry, however, which he excelled at. The subjects of his poems were not always people, but specific images, especially momentary ones. Many of his poems start with the word "The," which indicates that the poem will describe whatever follows "The" in the title. Writing was his side career to being a doctor, which was more economical at the time. His writing takes on the analytical approach that must come from his other career in the way he is able to dissect anything down to a few, intense moments when he captures his reader and both the reader and the speaker see what Williams sees. Women's roles were extremely diverse in his day, but none providing the much-deserved significance. The inconsistencies of the positions occupied by women in contemporary American society are demonstrated in the progression of his female subject's inferior place to men in "The Young Housewife" and "Portrait Of a Lady" to a more respectful view in "To a Poor Old Woman."

In Williams' "The Young Housewife," he makes a statement about males' domination over females, especially sexually. The poem can be viewed on a few different levels. The most basic form of power that the presumed doctor in car has is, in fact, his car. He has means to motorized transportation, while the young housewife is on foot. The most obvious sexual power is in the last three lines, where the poet drives his car over the dry leaves, when he just depicted the young housewife as a fallen leaf. The p...

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William Carlos Williams is a poet who had an immense influence on the course of 20th century poetry. His view of women was rich and varied, and much of his poetry was sexually charged, especially in the beginning. It is important to keep in mind that he grew up in a sexist culture, and to think that that had no impact on him--or especially his views on women in his writing--would be absurd. However, as times changed, so did his recognition for new poetic forms. He wrote in varying styles from fiction to essay to sketch and was often experimental. He chose to use simple verse forms, American rhythms of speech, vivid images, and honest depictions. His work also illustrates emotional confinement and intensifies the sensory experience with articulated common speech. Williams' poetry is enjoyable on the surface and more intellectual the deeper it goes.

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