Thursday, September 9, 2010

"The Widow's Lament in Springtime" William Carlos Williams

I feel like many people can relate to this poem, because the central theme is sorrow being so overbearing that one can't focus on anything else. Even if one hasn't lost a loved one, most everyone has had a time where he/she is overtaken by anguish. It seems as though she cannot find happiness in anything because everything reminds her of deceased husband when she says "sorrow in my own yard" and "though they (flowers) were my joy formerly, today I notice them and turned away forgetting." It's almost heart breaking. I, for one, can understand where she is coming from to a certain extent. I have been lost in heartache to the point where I couldn't sleep and when I was alone I thought of nothing else. It's a terrible feeling. I think Williams gets this feeling across well with his tone. He even says "I feel that I would like to go there" after her son tells her about the place in the meadow. It is as if she cannot even force herself to do anything, but mourn his death. I have never been to this point of depression by any means, but one can almost feel the pain.

I think that this poem is an easy read; I like the format. Williams uses juxtaposition when describing how the widow wants to "fall into those flowers and sink into the marsh near them." The flowers give a sense of happiness, while the marsh has a negative connotation. I interpreted this as the widow wanting to die to be with her husband, which would be bitter sweet indeed.

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