The Red Wheelbarrow

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so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

 The poem by William Carlos Williams is very experimental, the form is free; the theme is unclear. Many things may be said about the poem, some being that the wheelbarrow is a representation of the circle of life, some say that it might represent political issues, or even death. I believe that the poem itself is as simplistic and minimalistic as possible for a reason.

First of all, the structure and size of the poem are so unpretentious that it seems almost childish. It lacks punctuation, structure, and grammar, and yet there is an eerie calm about it. The way in which the words are placed on the page seems to work so well that the poem itself seems to sing. Though the words make little sense, the reader feels as though they know exactly what it is about, until they try to analyze it. The minimalism of the poem also defines its own meaning. Since there is little description and the entire poem is constructed from a few words, every small adjective feels like a splash of paint on a white canvas. The word ‘red’ paints a bright picture in the reader’s mind, and especially the word ‘glazed’ becomes a crucial part of the writing. Like the poem states, ‘so much depends upon…’ meaning, that the verse literally depends upon those words. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the words. Also, the straightforwardness of the poem might hint at a new idea: the simplicity of beauty.

Beauty is often seen as the most elaborate, extravagant things in life, and yet we rarely see the beauty in the plainness. In my eyes, Williams makes the details in writing which we overlook stand out. The small, supposedly insignificant setting adds emotion to the poem. Without it, the poem has nothing but the story, robotic and lacking emotion. The colourful words are barely colouful at all, and yet it makes the reader grasp at any word that might hint at a meaning. If the poem were to describe the wheelbarrow as ‘a dull red with some paint chipping off the handlebar, the metal screws rusting in the rain over a pile of once-was-sand that is now dirty mud,’ the reader would skip over the description or very quickly read it to get to the more important parts. W.C.W. emphasizes the image in the reader’s mind and that, in my opinion, is what makes the poem so beautiful.