1a. What has the speaker eaten?
2a. How does the speaker say that the plums tasted?
3a. Identify the emotions that the title, "This Is Just to Say," connotes.
4a. If you were the speaker, what type of reaction would you expect from the owner of the plums?
1b. Whom is the speaker addressing in the poem?
2b. Why does the speaker ask for forgiveness?
3b. Does the title indicate that the poem will be formal or informal?
4b. If you were the owner of the plums, would you want to trust the speaker again? Why, or why not?
Speaker and Tone. What tone does the speaker use toward the person he is addressing?
1a. With what is the red wheelbarrow glazed?
2a. Beside what do the white chickens stand?
3a. What details are provided about the red wheelbarrow?
1b. How does the presence of the rainwater emphasize the momentariness of the image? What moment is captured in the poem?
2b. What colors are part of the image? What do the colors add to the poem? Why is "so much depends / upon" the most important phrase in the poem?
3b. Why does so much depend upon the red wheelbarrow?
Image and Imagery. List the images in this poem. To which senses do the images appeal? What setting is created by the images?
Speaker and Effect. With what kind of eye does the speaker see the image? What effect, or general impression, does the poem create within the reader?
1. Imagine that you are the owner of the plums in "This Is Just to Say." Write a note to the speaker, explaining what you were saving the plums for and why you do or do not forgive the speaker.
2. Write a poem to someone you have offended. Model the poem after "This Is Just to Say:" start with "I have" plus a past participle, stating what you have just done. Conclude by asking forgiveness.
3. Write an imagistic poem in free verse about an ordinary object, such as a blue shoe, a yellow notebook, a green lamp, or a black telephone. Describe the object and connect it to another object. You may want to use "The Red Wheelbarrow" as a model.
Capitalizing Titles of Literary Works. Rewrite the following sentences, correcting the capitalization errors in each one.
1. William Carlos Williams's early poetry shows the influences of the various poetic trends of the time, such as metaphorical imagism in poems (1909) and the tempers (1913).
2. He uses free-verse expressionism in al que quiere! (1917), kora in hell (1920), and sour grapes (1921).
3. In his five-volume, impressionistic, philosophical poem, paterson (1946–58), Williams uses the experience of life in an American city in New Jersey to voice his feelings on the duty of the poet.
4. Williams was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1962 for pictures from breughel.
5. Williams's essays include those in in the american grain (1925), selected essays (1954), and embodiment of knowledge (1974).
Bibliography Cards. Locate one each of the following resources on the topic of William Carlos Williams. Write one bibliography card for each resource.
1. a book with one author
2. a book with an editor but no single author
3. a poem, short story, essay, or chapter in a collection of works by one author
4. an introduction, preface, foreword, or afterword written by someone other than the author(s) of a work
5. an article in an encyclopedia, dictionary, or other alphabetically organized reference work
Researching on the Internet.Read articles about William Carlos Williams on the Internet. One site you may find useful is the Voices Vision page at http://www.learner.org/catalog/extras/vvspot/williams.html. Then write four thesis statements for four different compositions you could write about Williams.
Notes on William Carlos Williams:
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