Introduction
William Carlos William (September 07, 1883- March 4, 1963) was an
American medical doctor, poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright. His poetry
deals with the modernism and imagism movement. His peer poets are Ezra Pound
and T.S Eliot. William's literary work includes short stories, poems, plays,
novels, critical essays, and an autobiography.
Text of the Poem
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
Summary
The Red Wheelbarrow is a short poem written by William Carlos
William. This poem is about a little red wheelbarrow. It is straightforward; however, it has so many things to offer. His exploration shows that daily
routine activities depend on the little red wheelbarrow (a cart with one
wheel). William explains this phenomenon by looking at the little red
wheelbarrow before him, shining after the rain, beside some white chicken.
Color Symbolism
This poem is the epitome of imagist poetry, in which simple
language and fresh images convey abstract ideas. William splits the
single word into two words only ,emphasizing mundane and ordinary
subjects.
The poem description shows a poultry area with some
chickens in the backyard after the rain. This poem deals significantly with
images rather than words. Words are only used in a transparent medium because a
single word shows a diversity of meanings.
In this poem, the color of every object describes a new thought. The "Red" color in the wheelbarrow suggests life, blood, and spirit,
whereas the wheelbarrow represents life, progression, and advancement. The
splitting of the wheelbarrow into two words, "wheel" or "barrow,"
gives the idea that these can be separated butonly works when both come in
contact. If we take "So much depends upon"
into the context of poultry or agriculture, it seems everything depends on a
wheelbarrow. It is a vehicle that has been used for thousands of years.
"Glazed with rain," "glazed" means the wheelbarrow is shining from
rainwater. Rainwater symbolizes life, nature, and serenity that freshens the
nerves of the readers and a beautiful image of a wheelbarrow glazed with rain. It
becomes more illuminated after rain dew drops.
"Besides the white chickens" exhibits a disguise of a poultry
area where a wheelbarrow is used for working by the farmer. White Chicken symbolizes
peace, purity, and moral values.
The whole poem describes many different meanings through single
words. All of the variants are dependent on each other. It is highly symbolic.
The words that break into two words describe that individually, they are
nothing: they depend on each other. Neutrally, for the working class, a
wheelbarrow is everything. Their labor and their incentives depend on the
wheelbarrow, and the red color represents the energy and passion behind driving
for the work.
Metaphorically, we always need someone if we want to prosper in
our lives. It also reflects the happy life after passing all day long in arduous
labor. It explains the peaceful life on a farm where everything is calm and
serene, even though this time is a tranquil replacement of modern technological
life.
This article is written by Avisra Ijaz, one of the contributors
at the School of Literature.
