a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning
Here, Williams's bluntness is dialed up to a humorous volume. These lines occur in the final stanza of "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus." They are the sole depiction of the actual "fall" itself, and Williams cuttingly mocks its relative unimportance in the scene as a whole. He describes the "drowning" as "a splash quite unnoticed," making it clear that he finds it to be less worthy of attention than the farmer's work he has just spent several stanzas writing about. The simplicity of the language here serves the material well, as he refuses to overindulge in this scene which has been painted and written about many times over. Instead, he joins Bruegel in deprioritizing the narrative of this mythic figure. This excerpt is a good example of Williams's ability to use directness for both humor and honesty, two recurrent and often connected tones in his work.
in which shine
the brokenpieces of a green
bottle
These lines at the end of "Between Walls" exemplify Williams's use of minor details. At the conclusion of this poem, the speaker takes note of the way some green shards of glass shine in an otherwise desolate back area of a hospital. This glimpse of momentary grace provides the poem with a central meaning. Williams is revealing how these "pieces of a green / bottle" show the potential for beauty in even the most unlikely or grim environments. Williams's measured use of the word "shine" as well as the singular description of the broken glass showcase the care with which he selects words to build clear and vivid images.
so much depends
upona red wheel
barrow
Williams often began his poems with very upfront, tactile scene-setting. One of the most prominent examples of this technique is in his famed "The Red Wheelbarrow." He starts by noting that "so much depends / upon" this wheelbarrow. This is true in a literal sense in that the wheelbarrow serves as a vehicle for moving things from place to place in gardens and fields. At the same time, it's true in a more abstract sense, as the wheelbarrow is a key tool for any agricultural labor. In these short introductory lines, Williams has marked the wheelbarrow as the figure of central importance in the poem. These lines helpfully demonstrate Williams's ability to paint a scene effectively with great restraint.
iron plates constructed to expand and contract with variations of temperature the folding and unfolding of a lily.
This quotation filters a mechanical description through the lens of a pure, natural image. It presents the industrialization of nature as becoming part of nature itself, through the comparison of "the folding/and unfolding of a lily." This organic process in the lily is a response to the climate and temperature in its natural habitat. The iron plates responding in the same manner creates a distinct parallel between the delicate flora and this iron building material. This excerpt demonstrates the connection, made often in Williams's work, between the growth of industry and imagery from the natural sphere.
Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold
Here, Williams places a great deal of variable emotional content into a relatively small space. The speaker expresses his regret for eating his wife's plums, asking her to "forgive him" for his small misdeed. However, he cannot help but note that "they were delicious / so sweet / and so cold." This stanza shows two warring impulses at work in the speaker, one expressing guilt and one still caught by the pleasurable impression that the plums left him with. The deliciousness of the plums was so pronounced that he is unable to suppress it, even in a moment where he is seeking penance for eating them in the first place. Williams has moments like this scattered throughout his work, in which a subtle emotional undercurrent is shown in relatively spare lines. In this example, the selection of key minor details, about the taste of the plums, does a great deal of productive work for the poem's conclusion.
