Have you heard of imagist poetry?
“Imagism called for a return to what were seen as more Classical values, such as directness of presentation and economy of language, as well as a willingness to experiment with non-traditional verse forms. Imagists use free verse.” Wikipedia
The Red Wheelbarrow, by William Carlos Williams (1883 – 1963) is an example of an imagist poem.
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
There have been many discussions and theories about this simple little poem. Was it meant to be simple, or is there hidden meaning, plumbing the depths of our sub-conscious?
“I was fumbling around, looking for a way to make sense of my life, and seized on William Carlos Williams’s poems . . . His poems were experimental yet safe—a combo I craved in my extra-dark teenage years.” Craig Morgan Teicher, Poetry Foundation
One teacher describes imagist poems as “use of exact words, avoid clichés, create new rhythms, freedom of subject choice, presents an image, is tight/distilled/concentrated, and uses suggestion rather than stating things directly.” This teacher said, “Post WWI, people lost a lot of hope in religion and Williams was commenting on this. ”
The teacher elaborated:
“So much depends
The use of 3 words in the beginning is a reference to the holy trinity.
a red wheel
barrow
The second stanza: barrow is separated from wheel. “Barrow” is a large mound of stones, which symbolize Christ’s burial. “Red” represents the blood of Christ.”
The teacher continues: “A wheelbarrow is used for hauling things, much like Christ carried mankind’s burden on himself. There’s transmogrification happening (unusual transformation). The wheelbarrow becomes Christ, the rain water symbolizes Holy water, and the white chickens represents angels.”
Or, as another teacher said, “Williams, a country doctor, had been up all night with a sick child. He may have looked out the farm house window and saw this scene.”
What do you think? Is The Red Wheelbarrow full of hidden meaning, or is it a simple American haiku?
Today’s Writing Prompt: Write an imagist poem. Use any or all of these words: tricycle, put, truly, blue, roll, next, afraid, upon, shape.
