William Carlos Williams

1. Alec Foss William Carlos Williams

2. Childhood • Born Sept 17th 1883 • First of two sons • English father, Puerto Rican mother • Grandmother named Emily Dickenson

3. Schooling • Showed early interest in math and science • Late high school is when he decided he liked literature. • Given strong and extremely strict morals by his parents. • University of Pennsylvania – Medicine • Schooling influenced by his parents • Used college as a means to creativity

4. Early Adulthood • Married Florence Hermen 1912 • He was a successful physician • After publishing Spring Is All, did not publish another book of poetry for 10 years.

5. Career As a Poet • Drew upon John Keats and Walt Whitman for inspiration – “Keats was my god.” • Ezra Pound – friend and mentor • Rebelled against rigid and ordered poetry – imagist movement. • Not very well known until Paterson • Was invited to be a consultant in the library of congress – failed.

6. Later Life • Failing health seemed to boost his creative strength • Died Mar. 4th 1963 • Last book, Pictures From Brueghel, won a Pulitzer in 1963

7. Some of his works • The Tempers 1913 • Kora In Hell: Improvisations 1920 • Spring And All 1923 • The Red Wheelbarrow 1938

8. Poem (As the cat) William Carlos Williams As the cat climbed over the top ofthe jamclosetfirst the rightforefootcarefullythen the hindstepped downinto the pit ofthe emptyflowerpot

9. Free verse poem Obviously about a cat Jamcloset – closet where you put jams?

10. As the cat climbed over the topof the jamcloset first the right forefoot carefully then the hind stepped down into the pit of the empty flowerpot

11. Cat climbing over something As the cat climbed over the top of the jamcloset first the right forefoot carefully then the hind stepped down into the pit of the empty flowerpot Uses the front right foot first Then steps into an empty flower pot

12. Rhythm Syllables As the cat climbed over the top of the jamcloset first the right forefoot carefully then the hind stepped down into the pit of the empty flowerpot 3 3 3 4 3 2 3 4 2 5 3 3

13. Theme • Seems to be about a cat climbing over something then into a flowerpot • The last stanzas last three lines have a descending rhythm which leads you to the end where he ends up in a flowerpot • “Carefully” sticks out

14. Interpretation My interpretation of this poem is simple. Williams was probably sitting somewhere looking for something to write about when he saw a cat climb over something (a jamcloset) and then fall into a flowerpot. He probably thought it was funny (which it probably was), and wrote a poem about it.

15. Sources • http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174770 • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carlos_Williams