The Red Wheelbarrow (Symbol)
The red wheelbarrow is the poem's central image. In a visual sense, it comes to define all the images on and around it. In a more literal sense, it is valued for its practical application in agricultural work: transporting equipment and other materials from place to place. Williams does not impose any conceptual language on the wheelbarrow. He does not try to make it contain a meaning beyond its literal presence as an image. The only attribution he makes to it is that "so much depends" on it. This line refers to the idea that it simultaneously bears actual weight while also contextualizing the poem's other symbols.
Rainwater (Symbol)
The rainwater functions as a symbol for the wheelbarrow's material form. Rainwater lightly coats the red wheelbarrow. This is the only physical description the reader receives about the wheelbarrow. As such, it does a number of different things within the text. The rainwater covering the wheelbarrow makes it clear that the wheelbarrow is stationary. If it were in motion, the water would be unable to cover it in this way. It also emphasizes that the wheelbarrow is made of metal, as water causes metal to rust over time. In this very understated fashion, Williams manages to choose an image that underlines these qualities of the wheelbarrow and creates a striking image in the reader's mind.
The White Chickens (Symbol)
The white chickens are the poem's final symbol. They clearly situate the poem in a rustic setting, allowing the reader to fill in the blank space surrounding the wheelbarrow. They also serve as a symbol for activity in the scene. Where the wheelbarrow is depicted as still and unmoving, the chickens are easy to imagine in motion. Though Williams gives them no physical attributes or actions, their presence at the end implies general movement. The chickens also add an additional element of depth to the piece, implying an idea of the sort of rural scene where this poem might take place. The symbol of the white chickens works like the final line of most haikus: supplying one final detail that builds out the world of the text. If the poem is a photograph, the wheelbarrow is in the foreground and the chickens are in the background.
