Poetry Analysis: "The Red Wheelbarrow"

513 Words2 Pages

From the beginning of William Carlos Williams’ poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” the reader is captured by the statement “so much depends” (Williams line 1). As this short work continues the reader is seeing a graceful image that Williams creates. The mind’s eye can envision a painting that is tranquil, yet has the quiet activity of a rural farm home. With this in mind, what exactly is the author sharing with the reader? The poem communicates charmingly the dependence a man has for a vital piece of equipment. The reader is welcomed with the introductory words “so much depends” (Williams 1). Williams begins the poem using four syllables. It seems the reader is invited into a conversation that is already taking place. The tone is sincere, carrying heavy ruminative words. The use of the verb “depends” connotes reliance and respect, guiding us through the poem (Williams 1). Subsequently, the next line is one word in its entirety. Williams’ uses one word lines a total of four times in this poem. Each one is succinct, having only two syllables. The word “upon” is suggesting responsib...

Show More
Related

  • Drifters Poem Analysis

    422 Words  | 1 Pages

    Without the use of stereotypical behaviours or even language is known universally, the naming of certain places in, but not really known to, Australia in ‘Drifters’ and ‘Reverie of a Swimmer’ convoluted with the overall message of the poems. The story of ‘Drifters’ looks at a family that moves around so much, that they feel as though they don’t belong. By utilising metaphors of planting in a ‘“vegetable-patch”, Dawe is referring to the family making roots, or settling down somewhere, which the audience assumes doesn’t occur, as the “green tomatoes are picked by off the vine”. The idea of feeling secure and settling down can be applied to any country and isn’t a stereotypical Australian behaviour - unless it is, in fact, referring to the continental

    Read More

  • Lines By Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of alll, the poem is divided into nine stanzas, where each one has four lines. In addition to that, one can spot a few enjambements for instance (l.9-10). This stylistic device has the function to support the flow of the poem. Furthermore, it is crucial to take a look at the choice of words, when analysing the language.

    Read More

  • Miller Williams Love Poem Analysis

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    Williams uses dry and subtle words such as “car”, “coffee”, or even plain “water” to create this powerful and foreboding poem which is interpreted pessimistically after getting past the tedious words. Its implicit meaning can be hard to grasp because it is deeply embedded into the poem and also implies the opposite of what we are taught as humans; we grow up with plans, goals, desires too, and Williams opens the reader’s eyes to explain the pointlessness of it all. Williams writes this poem knowing he will contradict everything people learn to do starting from a young age. In spite of this, it may inspire readers to stop worrying about the small things and focus on the grand scheme, maybe get them “wanting to love beyond this meat and bone,” despite its adverse meaning (21). Ultimately, the author subduedly goes against the ideal rules of life and allows the reader to interpret it however they want- either explicitly understand that it is normal for humans to want thing, not want things, and be wanted, or implicitly understand that there is no point in investing in our desires, for when we die, our goals- both the finished and unfinished- will not matter in the

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Poem "Move"

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lucille Clifton's poem "Move" deals specifically with an incident that occurred in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985. On that date, Mayor Wilson Goode, Philadelphia's first African American mayor, authorized the use of lethal force against fellow African Americans living at 6221 Osage Avenue. In her introduction to the poem, Clifton says that there had been complaints from neighbors, who were also African American, concerning the "Afrocentric back-to-nature" group that called itself "Move" and had its headquarters at this address (35). The members of this group wore their hair in dreadlocks and they all used their surname of "Africa." Clifton's poem suggests that it was these differences that cost the lives of eleven people, including children, and the loss of sixty-one homes, as authorities bombed the neighborhood rather than tolerate such diversity. In this poem, Clifton emphasizes the word "move," giving it a layered meaning that encompasses it not only as the name of the organization of the people who were bombed, but also as the imperative command to take action and "move" away from harm. Ultimately, however, the word becomes a command that is directed toward the African American major who caused the tragedy. Clifton points an accusing finger, saying that it is he that should "move" and not the people to whom he directed such violence.

    Read More

  • Turtles Hatching

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mark O’Connor begins the poem with one single line which emphasis the information that he is giving the reader. The continuation of this line from the rest of the poem to the next without a pause creates an urgency, which is used to emphasis the situation.

    Read More

  • The Bicycle Poem Analysis

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Making difficult decisions show up in life more often than realized. These choices can alter a person’s life in good and bad ways. “The Bicycle” by Jillian Horton is a story that focuses on a young talented pianist named Hannah. Throughout the story Hannah deals with the strict teachings of her Tante Rose, which leads her to make ironic decisions. Similarly, in the story “Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez, the barber undergoes a dilemma in which he must consider his moral values before making his final decision. Both stories have a protagonist that face conflicts which lead to difficult decision making, and in the end leads the characters to discover themselves. In both stories the authors use the literary devices theme, irony and symbolism to compare and contrast the main ideas.

    Read More

  • An Assessment of C.K. Wiliams and Ted Hughes

    2010 Words  | 5 Pages

    Williams uses a lot of punctuation in his poetry. His sentences, although full of commas and semicolons, flow smoothly from line to line. He uses a lot of clauses and qualifications in his writing. Each stanza remains fresh, never becoming mundane or repetitive. He chooses words carefully, painting pictures with broad, smooth strokes rather than wispy phrases that are hard to follow.

    Read More

  • Poem Analysis: The Rede By Lady Gwen Thompson

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Rede was originally published by Lady Gwen Thompson as "given to her by her Grandmother" and therefore part of a centuries old tradition. It has been described as a really bad poem. The Rede comes in two different forms: The Older Rede and The Common Rede.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Poem ' The Coffin '

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Description: A coffin. It is normally two pieces, a top and bottom, but it is now contrived to look like one cohesive piece. The coffin has a realistic face that is uniquely colored green with a beard that is plaited (braided) and turns upward. These attributes are done in homage to Osiris – who is said to be the Lord of the Underworld and the god of resurrection. The head of the coffin has been adorned with a traditionally worn Egyptian nemes headdress and a traditional collar necklace trimmed in tear drops is placed around the neck area. The bodily outlines are subtle, but in close examination, you can see the meticulous efforts added by the sculptor. This coffin is lucid, but uses line in remarkable patterns for detail. The base of the coffin has a prayer to Osiris along with the name of the deceased inscribed. This artifact represents Horankh’s coffin for his bodily remains.

    Read More

  • Bruce Dawe Poem Analysis

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    Australian poets Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood explore ideas and emotions in their poems through vivid and aural poetic techniques, the poets also use symbolism to allow the readers to relate to the text. In Dawes “Homecoming”, the poet explores the ideas in the text using language techniques such as irony, paradox and visual imagery to construct his attitude towards war and the effect. While in Gwen Harwood’s, “The violets”, she uses prevailing imagery and mood to emphasize fertility and growth. Contrastingly, In Bruce daws, “Life cycle”, the poet uses the idea of sport to symbolise and represent religion with the use of clichés and juxtaposition to convey his ideas of religion, myths and Christianity in the language use, similarly Harwood poem

    Read More

  • William Carlos Williams The Red Wheelbarrow

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    Williams’ minimalist writing style employed free verse and by maintaining simplicity allowed the wheelbarrow to be the center of attention. He accomplished this task by breaking up the poem, which consisted of one sentence, into eight lines and further divided it into couplets. The beginning line of each couplet was longer than the second line, which only had one word. This formation allowed the reader to focus on specific words before moving to the next line. This is best illustrated in the opening lines, “so much depends/upon,” (Williams 288). Already, Williams has established the importance of the object by conveying to the reader that many things are dependent on the object. It is also significant that none of the words in the poem are capitalized nor did Williams

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Natasha Trethewey's Poetry

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another way that Trethewey brings this poem together is through the use of

    Read More

  • Analysis of Burn's Poem A Red, Red Rose

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    'A Red, Red Rose', was first published in 1794 in A Selection of Scots Songs, edited by Peter Urbani. Written in ballad stanzas, the verse - read today as a poem – pieces together conventional ideas and images of love in a way that transcends the "low" or non-literary sources from which the poem is drawn. In it, the speaker compares his love first with a blooming rose in spring and then with a melody "sweetly play'd in tune." If these similes seem the typical fodder for love-song lyricists, the second and third stanzas introduce the subtler and more complex implications of time. In trying to quantify his feelings - and in searching for the perfect metaphor to describe the "eternal" nature of his love - the speaker inevitably comes up against love's greatest limitation, "the sands o' life." This image of the hour-glass forces the reader to reassess of the poem's first and loveliest image: A "red, red rose" is itself an object of an hour, "newly sprung" only "in June" and afterward subject to the decay of time. This treatment of time and beauty predicts the work of the later Romantic poets, who took Burns's work as an important influence.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Elegy, In Memory of W.B. Yeats

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    poetry and one of the greatest lines to be found within modern poetry. It not only appears

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis of Judith Wright's 'the Killer'

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    The construction of the poem is in regular four-line stanzas, of which the first two stanzas provide the exposition, setting the scene; the next three stanzas encompass the major action; and the final two stanzas present the poet's reflection on the meaning of her experience.

    Read More

More about Poetry Analysis: "The Red Wheelbarrow"

Open Document