Williams is a pioneer in poetry, he is among one of the first imagists to open the door into a whole new realm of poetry. The poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" is one of his most popular imagist poems.
This Red Wheelbarrow
William Carlos Williams
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
Historical Perspective
The Red Wheelbarrow was originally published in 1923 in the anthology "Spring and All." There has been mixed review on the poem. Many critics say that people read far too much into the poem, coming to conclusions that do not exist. Though, the purpose of this particular style is to evoke thoughts, which it does, in spades.
Aside from being one of the frontrunners of the imagist style, Williams was also a physician. This poem is said to portray a scene from Williams' own life. While sitting with a terminal young patient, fearing for her life, Williams looked out the window to see the wheelbarrow and chickens outside. This poem is a written representation of that moment.
This work was created early in Williams' writing career and displays a very personal side of his work. This moment was solely his moment. It is an intimate depiction of Williams' own life. Some of his later work sacrifices this intimate connection in order to employ a less objective style that allows the readers to more easily identify with the piece.
The Intended Meaning or Meanings
What exactly was Williams' intent? There is no concrete answer to this question. The interpretation of this poem is solely up to the reader, thus is the beauty of the imagist style. It may be true that Williams' wrote this with no other agenda than to illustrate a certain moment in his life.
The poem was said to have been written in a matter of minutes, so perhaps this is all Williams' meant the poem to be... or perhaps there is more to this poem than meets the eye. The 16 richly textured words fit together so beautifully in the mind's eye. They paint a simple but bleak picture, but what exactly do they mean?
This poem certainly does the job of provoking thought, but it is quite obscure. So, here are a few ideas as to what this poem is meant to represent.
Potential Representations
First off, this poem has a very distinct structure which may reveal more about the content than one would guess. It follows a strict syllable patten with alternating lines of 2 and 1 stressed syllable. This makes the poem flow in a melodic sort of rhythm. The stanzas always consist of two lines, the first of which always has 3 words and the second of which always has one word. The two lines form a complete thought, but the way that they are broken up drags the readers' eye down the page and gives the words more than one purpose.
The Wheelbarrow is perhaps Williams' attempt at escaping the confines of traditional poetry. It is his message to the masses, his proof that all poetry does not need to be traditional. Williams tries to break away from symbolism by representing reality and his reality could be said to carry much more weight than symbolism ever could.
This one moment in Williams' life was too poigniant to disguise with symbolism. He chose to present it as such for the reader to decide what exactly the poem was meant to represent. Now, if the reader doesn't know the history behind Williams and/or the poem, they may come to a different conclusion. Which, in the world of poetry, is more than acceptable.
As for what Williams actually meant, that is something the he alone was privy to. This is just one possible analysis in a long line of Williams interpretations.
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