Williams had a motto: "No ideas but in things." He disliked highly allusive poetry as exemplified by T. S. Eliot; Williams is considered an Imagist poet.
Pediatrician Inventing His Own Style
Williams was a pediatrician, which means he probably did not have time to study literature formally, so it follows that he would profess a penchant for a poetry that is composed of the immediately observable. And that is not uncommon for poets to dislike the prevailing styles for whatever reason and then invent and promote their own.
While caring for a sick child at the child’s home, Williams wrote "The Red Wheelbarrow" in less than five minutes while observing a scene out of the window. So why is this a poem? Why is it studied so widely? Why has so much been written about it? The main reason is that it exists, and that Williams did, in fact, make a name for himself in poetry, and he influenced the next generation of poets.
Why Study This Poem
But while there seems to be little there at first glance, if the reader concentrates, he will find an interesting and true assertion; although, I seriously doubt that Williams actually thought of this concept. If we string these lines together to make a sentence—So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens—we can understand the poverty of this sentence as it tries to be a poem.
However, the claim that “so much depends” upon this wheelbarrow is quite accurate. On a farm, a wheelbarrow is used for a number of important farm chores—moving tools from the barn to the house and back, transporting feed to the cows and chickens, carrying seeds for planting and then the produce to the house at harvest. My dad even used his wheelbarrow for mixing cement when he built our chimney and two supporting rocks wall in front of our house.
So the statement is true: on a farm, a lot does depend on being about the cart around various items. And, of course, because of being able to move these items easily, one’s livelihood as a farmer is facilitated.
Aesthetics
In addition to making a true and profound statement, the little verse has a pleasing beauty. Notice that each “stanza” is shaped like a wheelbarrow. The colors stand out because of their contrast with one another: the white chickens contrast with the red of the wheelbarrow. The use of the term “glazed” gives depth to the rain on the wheelbarrow. It seems just the right word in the right place. What other term would be more appropriate? Splashed, soaked, drenched, covered? No. “Glazed” coats the wheelbarrow with the rain just perfectly.
An art student in my English Composition class at Ball State University painted a lovely little scene depicting the meaning of this poem: she painted the red wheelbarrow and the chickens, of course, but what demonstrated that she understood the meaning of the poem was that in the wheelbarrow she placed a mound of soil with a house setting on top and a corn stalk growing out of the soil. That this poem could elicit such a painting has always rendered it one close to my heart.
