Literature Studies in Poetry

Running Head : ANALYZING THE

Analyzing the Success of The Red Wheelbarrow

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Analyzing the Success of The Red Wheelbarrow

Many struggle to leave an imprint in the minds of their readers through their works . Some dwell on grotesque and absurd themes , others spend too much effort on elaborate historical parallelisms , still others dwell on illicit love affairs told in an inventive plot . For William Carlos Williams , these techniques seem useless as he successfully captures readers ' interest through simple words and style . His poem The Red Wheelbarrow

' published in 1923 demonstrates how the poet can make a lasting impression even to modern-day readers

The Red Wheelbarrow ' is a one-stanza poem composed of eight very short lines , four of which have three words , while the other four have one . For instance

So much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow (1-4

Basically , the brevity of the poem is its strongest point . Reading the poem for the first time makes the reader wonder why it is too short , and why the author uses the wheelbarrow as his subject . First , its brevity appalls the readers and makes them look for more s of the subject . Convinced that the poem has only eight short lines , the readers then tries to unlock the meaning and relevance of the poem (i .e . what is special about the subject that motivated the author to write about it The mere attention that the reader gives at first reading demonstrates the power of the poem to arouse readers...