The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams
‘The Red Wheelbarrow’ by William Carlos Williams depicts, in very simple language, a red wheelbarrow outside in the rain.
so much depends upon a red wheel barrow
The Young Housewife
by William Carlos Williams
‘The Young Housewife’ by William Carlos Williams is a short poem that intimately envisions a few moments in the life of a lonely woman confined to her home.
At ten a.m. the young housewife
moves about in negligee behind
the wooden walls of her husband’s house.
I pass solitary in my car.
Perfection
by William Carlos Williams
‘Perfection’ by William Carlos Williams is a poem about finding exquisite appreciation for a decay as a natural part of life in the image of a rotting apple.
O lovely apple!
beautifully and completely
rotten
hardly a contour marred--
Tract
by William Carlos Williams
‘Tract’ by William Carlos Williams is a unique poem about funeral practices and how Williams’ speaker believed they should be altered to better serve the dead.
I will teach you my townspeople
how to perform a funeral —
for you have it over a troop
Blizzard
by William Carlos Williams
‘Blizzard’ by the American poet William Carlos Williams is filled with vivid imagery of a blinding snowstorm and its aftermath. This poem taps on the themes of time, human history, and personal experiences.
Danse Russe
by William Carlos Williams
Danse Russe by William Carlos Williams is a lighthearted poem in which the poet dances naked before a mirror. The poet, as he dances, admires himself and his own company, relishing his loneliness.
If I when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
Hunters in the Snow
by William Carlos Williams
‘Hunters in the Snow’ by William Carlos Williams is a mostly straightforward description of a painting by the same name created by Pieter Brueghel.
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
by William Carlos Williams
‘Landscape with the Fall of Icarus’ by William Carlos Williams gives the reader a dark description of a painting by Pieter Brueghel.
Explore more poems from William Carlos Williams
Spring and All
by William Carlos Williams
‘Spring and All…’ by William Carlos Williams describes a desolate and dying landscape which borders a road and leads to a “contagious hospital.”
The Dance
by William Carlos Williams
In Brueghel’s great picture, The Kermess,
the dancers go round, they go round and
around, the squeal and the blare and the
tweedle of bagpipes, a bugle and fiddles
The Great Figure
by William Carlos Williams
Classic to William Carlos Williams’ poetry, ‘The Great Figure’ is written in free verse without any punctuation. This modernist style is reflective of his inclusion in the Imagist movement.
The Yachts
by William Carlos Williams
‘The Yachts’ by William Carlos Williams depicts the winners, or yacht-owners, in the capitalist system and the losers, or the poor, who are drowning in the waters around the boats.
This is Just to Say
by William Carlos Williams
‘This is Just to Say’ by William Carlos Williams contains a speaker’s apology to the listener for going into the fridge and eating plums.
To a Poor Old Woman
by William Carlos Williams
‘To a Poor Old Woman’ by William Carlos Williams is a thoughtful poem. In it, the speaker describes the experience of an old woman eating a bag of ripe plums.
Willow Poem
by William Carlos Williams
‘Willow Poem’ by William Carlos Williams describes the life cycle of a willow tree that is surprised by the coming of winter.
Winter Trees
by William Carlos Williams
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.
