Department of English
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University
Portrait of a Lady
(1920)
William Carlos Williams
(September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963)
Your
thighs are appletrees |
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whose
blossoms touch the sky. |
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Which sky? The sky | |
where
Watteau hung a lady's |
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slipper. Your knees |
5 |
are
a southern breeze—or |
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a
gust of snow. Agh! what |
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sort
of man was Fragonard? |
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—as
if that answered |
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anything. Ah, yes—below |
10 |
the knees, since the tune | |
drops that way, it is | |
one of those white summer days, | |
the tall grass of your ankles | |
flickers upon the shore— | 15 |
Which shore?— | |
the sand clings to my lips— | |
Which shore? | |
Agh, petals maybe. How | |
should I know? | 20 |
Which shore? Which shore? | |
I said petals from an appletree. |
Notes
3–5 The sky where Watteau hung a lady's slipper: The painting that the speaker envisions, seems to be not Watteau's but Fragonard's The Swing (1767).
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767, oil on canvas, The Wallace Collection |
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4: Watteau:
8 Fragonard:
21 Which shore? Which Shore?: When the poem was first published in The Dial (Aug. 1920), two lines followed this one before the final line:
—the petals from some hidden
appletree—Which shore?
The Dial (1920) | The Collected Poems (1991) | ||||
Your thighs are appletrees | |
Your
thighs are appletrees |
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||
whose blossoms touch the sky. | whose
blossoms touch the sky. |
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Which sky? The sky | Which sky? The sky | |
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where Watteau hung a lady's | where
Watteau hung a lady's |
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slipper. Your knees | 5 |
slipper. Your
knees |
5 |
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are a southern breeze—or | are
a southern breeze—or |
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|||
a gust of snow. Agh! what | a
gust of snow. Agh! what |
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|||
sort of man was Fragonard? | sort
of man was Fragonard? |
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|||
—As if that answered | —as
if that answered |
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anything.—Ah, yes. Below | 10 |
anything. Ah,
yes—below |
10 |
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the knees, since the tune | the knees, since the tune | |
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drops that way, it is | drops that way, it is | |
|||
one of those white summer days, | one of those white summer days, | |
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the tall grass of your ankles | the tall grass of your ankles | |
|||
flickers upon the shore— | 15 |
flickers upon the shore— | 15 | ||
Which shore?— | Which shore?— | ||||
the sand clings to my lips— | the sand clings to my lips— | ||||
Which shore? | Which shore? | ||||
Agh, petals maybe. How | Agh, petals maybe. How | ||||
should I know? | 20 |
should I know? | 20 | ||
Which shore? Which shore? | Which shore? Which shore? | ||||
—the petals from some hidden | I said petals from an appletree. | ||||
appletree—Which shore? | |||||
I said petals from an appletree. |
There's
my things drying in the corner: that blue skirt joined to the grey shirt— I'm sick of trouble! Lift the covers if you want me and you'll see the rest of my clothes— though it would be cold lying with nothing on! I won't work and I've got no cash. What are you going to do about it? —and no jewelry (the crazy fools) But I've my two eyes and a smooth face and here's this! look! it's high! There's brains and blood in there— my name's Robitza! Corsets can go to the devil— and drawers along with them— What do I care! My two boys? —they're keen! Let the rich lady care for them— they'll beat the school or let them go to the gutter— that ends trouble. This house is empty isn't it? Then it's mine because I need it. Oh, I won't starve while there's the Bible to make them feed me. Try to help me if you want trouble or leave me alone— that ends trouble. The county physician is a damned fool and you can go to hell! You could have closed the door when you came in; do it when you go out. I'm tired. |
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 |
it
is a satisfaction a joy to have one of those in the house when she takes a bath she unclothes herself she is no Venus I laugh at her an Inca shivering at the well the sun is glad of a fellow to marvel at the birds and flowers look in |
5 10 15 |
I propose sweeping changes from top to bottom of the poetic structure. I said structure. So now you are begging to get the drift of my theme. I say we are through with the iambic pentameter as presently conceived, at least for dramatic verse; through with the measured quatrain, the staid concatenations of sounds in the usual stanza, the sonnet. More has been done than you think about this though not yet been specifically named for what it is. I believe something can be said. Perhaps all that I can of here is to call attention to it: a revolution in the conception of the poetic foot—pointing out the evidence of something that has been going on for a long time.
—William Carlos Williams, "The Poem as a Field of Action," University of Washington (1948)
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- a Lady: Shows
not a lady but certain parts of a lady - thighs: Why begin so low? Why begin with thigh? Why begin not with face, eyes, hair, brow, lips? - touch the sky: moving up; awkward comical attempt at love talk; rate X - Which sky?: We hear from the woman - Which: as if there are many - Your knees are a southern breeze: Comparison doesn't make sense?; attempting to be too different - Agh!: Frustration? interruption; comment - Fragonard: another painter; misremembers artist; attempt to show off cultural learning - as if that answered anything: Whose comment? - Ah yes—below: moving down - since the tune: logic, flow, trajectory; this is a song? - drops: down - drops that way: But who's calling it? You! - tall grass of your ankles: !; original but nonsensical metaphor; still works? or becomes empty nonsense? - flickers: odd verb for grass and feet - Which shore?: Does it matter? Why this question? - sand clings to my lips: What is the feet doing that it is at the speaker's lips? - Agh: Same Agh speaker as above? - petals maybe: What kind of answer is this? - How should I know?: poet/courting man doesn't have to know what he speaks or understands his own words, poem, or logic - Which shore? Which shore?: like waves beating shore - I said: becomes absurd |
Study Questions
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Vocabulary
diction
Sample Student Responses to William Carlos Williams's "Portrait of a Lady"
Study Question:
Response 1:
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Reference
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William Carlos Williams |
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Last updated January 28, 2016