Syntax In William Carlos Williams's The Red Wheelbarrow

In the poem, “‘ Race’ Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez, I have annotated several pieces of syntax, imagery, and connotation. This poem is about how two brothers, of the age six and nine, have a bad experience going over to a place called South Gate to buy groceries. I believe that the author uses these forms of elements to create emphasis and emotion on the story. These elements, I believe, helped the story have more of a connection with the reader and a first person view of what the characters in the poem had to go through.

Some fancy that it is easiest to believe that things mean precisely what they appear to on the surface. However, to understand the world and thoughts of others in a more profound way, it is necessary to accept the fact that things may not always be just as they seem. It is imperative that one adopt this same attitude when reading poetry. One poem in particular that exemplifies this is John Updike’s “Telephone Poles”. Within the work, telephone poles are compared to trees by way of extended metaphor. “Telephone Poles” conveys the message that when nature is destroyed to make way for technology is harmful to nature itself and humankind as well by using an extended metaphor; this is enhanced and made clear by Updike’s usage of supporting metaphors, similes, verbal irony, and imagery.

While being held in prison for the first time, Baca discovered the beauty of poetry; “my sense of teetering on a rotting plank over swamp water where famish alligators clapped their horny snouts for my blood. While I listened to the words of the poets, the alligators slumbers powerless in their lairs” (Baca). From the use of metaphor to create imagery, Baca showed the reader a scene of how the powerful dictions of the poets can relinquish dangers in his mind. Baca uses such imagery to help the reader better understand how this cruel environment can be transformed through the words of poets.

The fact that enjambment is used throughout the poem such as in the lines, “like a colour slide or press an ear against its hive” portrays a lack of structure and therefore emphasizes the initial enjoyment one feels when reading a poem before the chore of analyzing it begins. This is also emphasized through the fact that the poem is a free verse poem.

George Szirtes article “Formal Wear: Notes on Rhyme, Meter, Stanza, and Pattern” from the Poetry Foundation opens with opinions which focus on limitations of poetic form. As a counter to these common arguments, Szirtes claims, “Verse is not decoration: it is structural. It is a forming principle and words at depth” ("Formal Wear: Notes” 2). He then develops an argument explaining, “the constraints of form are spurs of the imagination: that they are in fact the chief producers of imagination” ("Formal Wear: Notes” 2). Taking these ideas into consideration Szirtes incorporates the idea of language explaining how language connects to memory and imagination which come together to form poetic images. Additionally, when poets use form it develops

Billy Collins uses dark rooms, oceans, hives, color slides and mouse mazes to describe his poem “Introduction to Poetry”, but also a way to analyze poetry in general. Growing up, students are advised by teachers how to analyze poetry. The speaker of Introduction to Poetry, Billy Collins, attempts to guide the readers by teaching them a unique and appropriate way to analyze poetry. The use of personification and imagery, by the author, gives the readers a new perspective to interpret and find the significance in poetry. In this particular poem, the speaker does not want the reader to listen to the teachers of the reader’s past, “tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a

On screen there is an example of this device in The Apology Day Breakfast. This device runs on a thought from one line to another without punctuation, this causes breaks of rhythm and effects the rate of reading. The effect of using this device is the creation of a sense of disconnect, as a constant theme running throughout both poems. Similarly, both poems have no consistent rhyming scheme and lack basic punctuation. The decision of both poets to employ an unstructured approach in terms of form and punctuation creates discomfort within the reader and challenges them to makes sense of what has been written. The use of primary sources as annotations in Heart’s Core Lament brings further depth and provides the reader an opportunity to consider the implications of white colonisation on Australia’s indigenous people.

Similarly, in Williams' poem, "The Great Figure," he reinforces the idea of brevity over elaboration in order to draw the reader into a moment of pure objectivism. Williams employs a visually disjointed poetic pattern to express the minute details of an ordinary scene. Between line six and line nine, Williams places single words as enjambed lines. The power of each word is emphasized by its solitary line placement. The lines "firetruck," "moving," and "unheeded" each ends with mute sounds (Williams 1). The sound at the end of each line creates a hard stop, further emphasizing the solitary power of each word. Additionally, "moving" and "tense" are placed at the center of the poem each shaping both the motion and mood of the poetic landscape (Williams 1). The structure of "The Great Figure" carries the observant reader swiftly through each component of the scene. The reader's attention is drawn between different objects by using prepositions. An example of prepositional use to direct attention occurs in the line "on a red" (Williams 1). When using the objectivist style, the perception of the poet is emphasized

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.

When a reader initially reads Donald Justice’s “The Poet at Seven,” he or she might take the easy route and conclude it for what it says, only. If this method were taken, the poem’s presumed plot would have been taken quite literally: the poet is reminiscing about his childhood memories; the poem is sweet, simple, and nostalgic. However, poems are not that simple. They are complex riddles, full of hidden meaning. To truly shed light on Justice’s purpose of the poem, it is necessary to look at the “what-if’s” through its intricate designs of language. The poem’s form is an important start when close reading. Also, to discern the hidden meaning, it is important to consider the specific word choice and how it paints a picture inside the reader’s mind. As a result, the reader will grasp the poem’s true intention. By doing this, the reader will sincerely have an understanding of “The Poet at Seven,” the way Justice probably would have wanted.

In the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins contrasts a teacher’s passionate view of poetry with his students’ objective ones. The teacher urges the students to take the time to carefully examine a poem instead of forcing a deeper meaning out of its words. Collins uses imagery such as “press an ear against its hive” and “feel the walls for a light switch” to emphasize using all of the senses to fully experience a poem and to explain that there are various ways of approaching it. This imagery’s connotation also contrasts greatly with that of the students’. The teacher depicts creative and interesting ways of learning the true meaning of a poem while the students would rather “tie the poem to a chair with rope/and torture a confession

Atwood uses simple, but effective imagery to engage the senses of the reader, for example: ‘[…] that is a fish, blue and flat’ (l. 4). These images grow more elaborate and it becomes clear that she uses metaphors and simile to convey more intricate ideas. As the speaker confesses that there is more to the world than they let on, the use of enjambment, repetition and punctuation directs the focus on certain words and gives the poem certain acuteness and urgency as the pace increases: ‘Once you have learned these words | you will learn that there are more |words than you can ever learn.’ (l. 21-23).

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by

"The Fish" As a "Machine Made Of Words" Marianne Moore's use of syllabic verse, enjambment and imagery in her poem, "The Fish", demonstrates William Carlos Williams' definition of poetry as "A machine made of words," in an exact, live and eroding portrayal of the sea. Moore's use of enjambment represents the driving force of a machine that works ceaselessly. The majority of the poetic lines in each stanza break before the sentences end, obligating the reader to continue on to the next line due to the incomplete syntax which does not allow for a natural pause. For instance: Of the crow-blue mussel-shells, one keeps adjusting the ash-heaps; opening and shutting itself like Clearly, the enjambment takes place not only between

This poem that the mother has written for her daughter is better seen as a “guide” to adulthood due to her use of an extremely long run-on sentence and choice of diction. The run-on sentence consists of a list of commands like “this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house; this is how you sweep a yard" (22-24). Not only does the run-on sentence depict that this is a guide, but so does the constant repetition of “this is how” and “don’t