WCW: Imagist Poetry
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William Carlos Williams, 1883-1963
William Carlos Williams was an American poet, novelist, playwright, essayist and one of the fathers of the Imagist poetry, along with his good friend Ezra Pound. Imagist poetry is characterized by plain language andthe use of few words that focus on concrete images instead of abstract ideas.
Williams is best loved for his simple poems, the characteristically vulgate diction in his work, and often interesting formatting. His most famous poem is probably The Red Wheelbarrow though my two favorites are As the Cat and This Is Just to Say . As you read those poems, pay close attention to the simplicity of the language (This is Just to say was actually written as a note to his wife and stuck on the refrigerator) and how the form is used to enhance the meaning of the poems.
Some of friends and contemporaries include the aforementioned Ezra Pound, Robert Frost and William Butler Yeats.
The following poems are untitled and were written quickly while looking at pictures and thinking about how William Carlos Williams would describe them and the stories behind them. I hope you enjoy them and if you have any ideas for titles, please let me know (The last one may not be a true imagist piece because it has some abstraction). Collectively they are called WCW.
As with all poems, but especially with imagist poetry, read the poems slowly and pause at each line break.
(With apologies to William Carlos Williams)
2.
He watches
The apples fall
From Branches
Overburdened.
On the ground
They wither and rot
In the late
summer sun,
Killing the grass.
He can’t bring
Himself
To save them.
*****
1.
the swing
is rusty now
he pauses
smiles
remembers
when it wasn’t
*****
3.
As I approach
The tree
To pick
The plums
A tiny dagger
Enters
My foot.
A slow
Swelling
A dull
Throbbing
A smile
Creeping
Across my lips
As I ponder
The heroic
Honey bee
Twitching and dying
Before me
Who sacrifices
Himself
To save
His hive.
all rights reserved. copyright Justin W. price Feb 12, 2012
Which of These Three Did you Like Best?
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CommentsLoading...
Plath's "Daddy" is awesome. I can't wait until your paper is ready. When I was a college senior in English, I did my final paper on "Plath and the Deconstruction of Feminism." I used that poem and her best ever "Lady Lazarus." I love her use of mythology. I am so glad you wrote this piece on Williams.
Good day Justin.
I picked number three,
the story of the bee,
just because you couldn't see
the nest beneath the tree
all the best
Debby
Lutfor... thanks so much for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoy Williams!
"This is Just to Say" is the best poem I've ever read.
Vellur, thanks for your suggestions. I like "the Brave One"
Excellent hub. Voted up. This hub reminds me of Amy Lowell who was also an imagist poet. Titles that popped into my mind -
1.Bygone days
2.Helpless
3.The Brave One
Thank you so much, Jamie. I appreciate that!
I appreciate the suggestions, Till. i will take them under advisement!
Thanks Xeno. That's one of my goals!
Ryan, me too. It seem slike life was always simpler bsack in the day :-)
An incredible hub with well written poems, and a shout out WCW. Jamie
I know I'll always learn and enjoy when I read your work. Simple suggestions: #1 Remember, #2 Apple's Life #3 The Bee
Lame, but suggestions. I really loved them and hope you write more. Voted up and SHARED.
Wonderful! You are an encouragement for all of us to read more poetry.
i really enjoyed the one about the swing. i remember those days at the park or the old swings i use to have in the backyard. the days when life was simple
Thanks a lot, lyric writer. I'm glad you enjoyed this and I'm glad I could introduce you to WCW
Very interesting. It is always good to learn about someone knew. I had never heard of him before, but I am not big on poetic history per say. Cool poems though pal.
Thanks Blossom. I appreciate the visit.
Thanks b. I'm glad you enjoyed this. I hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day!
Mona, I will consider your advice about the capitals. I kind of like them, but I am also pretty lazy about changing things like that :-)
chs, Williams has grown on me. I love the simplicity of his work.
I like the middle one because I've been there and done that, too. A very interesting hub.
What a Wonderful Treat Today from you my Friend...Loved your Poems...They were all Excellent, but I really Loved # 1. And not Because it's Valentine's Day... but I Voted this Hub UP!
Oh I loved the Red Wheelbarrow!
I like the way you wrote about the poet and gave links for convenient reference. Awesome idea to add your own imagist poems--the first one I think is the best on for the form. I could feel the connection. The lack of captials works well too.
But I enjoyed the vibe and imagery of the last with its "dagger" metaphor. Evocative.
I wonder about the capitals on every line in the other two poems. It seems distracting to me, especially as you have such short lines. Rereading I can see how they do slow the read though!
I really liked the feeling of the end of the second poem. I could really relate to his thought here.
So well done and very enjoyable to reflect upon.
Thanks for sharing.
From my understanding of things, great poems on your part. I would prefer yours to those of Williams - his are a bit too brief for my liking.
You asked for suggestions for titles for yours. May I suggest (1) - Rusty is the Swing; (2)When the Apples Fall; (3) Bee Sacrifice. These will probably not reflect the true essence of your imagery. Just suggestions. Thanks for the asking.
Duffsmom, thank you. I will tell you, the first time I read the red wheelbarrow, I didn't get it and it didn't resonate, but As the Cat and This is Just to say immediately did. I've learned to like The Red Wheelbarrow, but ti's still a distant third :-)
Thanks Capedium!
Thanks Ardie. I've been very nostalgic lately. Getting older is bitter sweet. Blogged about ti this morning...
Thank you Audrey!
Tammy, me too. I actually am doing a report on Plath's "Daddy" this term, so, i'll post that up when it's done, though my fave path poem might be "I am vertical". Pound had some pretty brief masterpieces, like In the Station at the Metro. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Eddy. You too!
Thanks Vinaya!
Thansk Jen for the compliments. I'm glad you read these slowly. That's how all poetry should be read!
Thanks Raci. You should check him out
pickles, I actually hate bees, but I still think they're interesting :-)
One of my favorite poets, also a pediatrician, absolutely love his work. Simple and so effective. The Red Wheelbarrow is my favorite of his works. At first reading I thought, "What?" then again and again I read the few simple lines and saw something more every time. Great Hub.
I like three better.. It is interesting...
Number one reminds me of being an adult and seeing my childhood swingset. It is rusted now but when I remember the days when it was new I smile and remember old friends and picnics with my stuffed animals! Love it as always PDX
Sharing!
Well done! I love this era in American poetry more than any other with the exception of Sylvia Plath. Williams was an expert in saying so much by saying so little. It took Pound and Elliot pages and pages to say as much as Williams did. This is fabulous! You chose some great ones here.
A great hub and thanks for sharing.
Take care and enjoy your day.
Eddy.
Beautiful sets of poems. Thanks for info.
This style does carry an ever lasting punch to the gut. It is raw yet meaningful, graceful and truthful. I liked all three of your poems, and when reading them slowly, absorbing each line, I was tantalized with a powerful vision. Another great poet to read, well besides you.
nice work on this one Justin...i only learn about him now...i like the imagery he tries to capture in his poetry...
Enjoyed reading all of them, but have a love for bees, so it was my favorite. You really have such a talent and we are the benefactors. Vote up!
Gypsy. I like those titles. In the tradition of William Carlos Williams, Maybe I should just name them after the first line in the poem. Who knows. Thanks so much for reading. It's always a blast to see you!
Thanks Phoebe. I appreciate the votes!
Voted up and awesome. I especially want to thank you for introducing me to poets I haven't known before. Titles are sometimes more difficult to write then the poems themselves because they come from the soul. I thought this: 1) Childhood Lost 2) Think Apple Wine 3)The Heroic Honey Bee. The apple wine came to me because we have four apple trees and there are so many apples that my husband steams out the juice and makes apple wine but there are still a lot of apples that go bad.
Very interesting hub... unique and different. Two thumbs way up. ^_^
Thank you very much for those kind words, Ian!
Audrey, it looks like they've changed their share module. I haven't had any problems sharing, both others have...
Deborah, if you voted honestly, then you voted right! Thanks for the kind words and for reading and commenting!
uh! another masterpiece by the master author. Love em for sure. Keep em coming. Voted up.
Ah beautiful job on these Justin--I particularly like the 1st one--I'll share if HP lets me--I don't know why, but I haven't been able to do that the past couple of days--
Enjoy your day!
I hope I voted right.. Karaoke you always have the best hubs on poets.. I really enjoy reading them.. thank you so much for doing this for us.
voted way up
Debbie
TENKAY Level 4 Commenter 2 months ago
I like the third poem the best. Its very evocative, I could almost feel the pain of a bee sting. Thank you for sharing the untitled poems.
Voted up and beautiful.