The Widow’s Lament in Springtime Thesis: Williams contrasts a woman’s sadness over the loss of her husband with the beautiful new scenery of springtime in order to communicate the full extent of the woman’s sorrow.

Overall Interpretation The woman has lost her husband: Thirtyfive years/I lived with my husband (7-8). All of the images of springtime magnify her sadness: but the grief in my heart is stronger than they [the flowers on the cherry branches and bushes] for though they were my joy formerly, today I notice them and turn away forgetting. (15-19) Now she wants to die: I feel that I would like to go there and fall into those flowers and sink into the marsh near them. (25-28)

Sense: meaning and language Speaker: Woman who is a widow Point of view: First person Internal monologue: Inner thoughts Mood: Sorrowful “Lament” (title) “Sorrow is my own yard” (1) Diction: “lament” and “springtime”: end vs. beginning (title) “flames,” “flamed,” and “cold fire”: flame of love (3, 5) Only family members mention are “husband” and “son”: patriarchy (8, 20) Repetition: “white” repeated 2x: surrender (9, 24) Contrasts with “yellow” and “red” (14) “masses of flowers” repeated 2x: “flowers” repeated 4x: funeral mass/service (10-11) “today” repeated 2x: focus is on the present rather than past “and fall into”, “and sink into” (incremental repetition): unmistakable meaning (27-28) Sense: meaning and language Purpose/Effect: Williams wants the reader to understand the extent of a widow’s inner sorrow, and first person point of view is most effective for communicating her internal monologue. Williams repeats important words to emphasize the gravity of the death and to help the reader understand that a funeral has occurred.

Senses: imagery and symbols Springtime imagery throughout the poem: yard/grass plumtree/flowers cherry tree branches/blossoms bushes meadows trees of white flowers Color imagery throughout the poem: “color some bushes/yellow and some red” (13-14) Symbolism: “the plumtree is white today” (9) “trees of white flowers” (24) Senses: imagery and symbols Purpose/Effect: These images evoke spring time and help set up the contrast between the beautiful scenery and the widow’s sorrow. The colors, yellow and red, fit with the springtime motif, but the color white is presented opposite them to symbolize the widow’s surrender.

Style: poetry techniques Stream of consciousness throughout the poem Juxtaposition: blue= negative feelings red= positive images Sorrow is my own yard where the new grass flames… (1-3) Masses of flowers load the cherry branches and color some bushes yellow and some red but the grief in my heart is stronger than they (11-16) at the edge of the heavy woods in the distance, he saw trees of white flowers. I feel that I would like to go there and fall into those flowers and sink into the marsh near them. (22-28) Style: poetry techniques Purpose/Effect: Williams juxtaposes negative feelings and positive images to emphasize the sorrowful mood. His style is stream of consciousness to communicate the widow’s honest thoughts just as they occur to her, rather than through a filter.

Structure: form, organization, and pattern Enjambment throughout the poem: “Thirtyfive years/I lived with my husband” (7-8) Long time “formerly, today I notice them” (18) Abrupt change Structure: form, organization, and pattern Purpose/Effect: Williams uses enjambment extensively to portray the widow’s free- flowing expression, stream-of- consciousness thought, and fragmented ideas. Williams’ structure reinforces the depth and complexity of the woman’s grief.

Structure: form, organization, and pattern Syntax: Long sentence with complicated syntax (11-19) Syllables: Most lines have 4-8 syllables; however, two lines are different: One line has 9 syllables: “formerly, today I notice them”: emphasizes change (18) Line 18 has a different number of syllables to show how the widow’s perspective has changed from the past to today. One line has 3 syllables: “to go there”: emphasizes death (26) Line 26 has a different number of syllables to show that the widow wants to physically “go” to her death. Incremental repetition: “and fall into”, “and sink into” (27-28) Structure: form, organization, and pattern Purpose/Effect: The long, complex sentence presents the essence of the poem and describes the woman’s transition. The incremental repetition emphasizes the woman’s intentions and makes her meaning unmistakable: she intends to kill herself.

Sound: musicality and auditory techniques Rhythm: Similar line lengths (most lines have 4-8 syllables) End-rhyme: “year” and “years” (6, 7) “flowers” (10, 11, 24, 27) “branches” and “bushes” (12, 13) Sound: musicality and auditory techniques Purpose/Effect: Williams’ consistent rhythm coincides with the stream-of- consciousness style of the poem. Each rhyme emphasizes concepts essential to the meaning of the poem: time of year, duration of the relationship, flowers (spring vs. funeral), and springtime imagery.

Connection to Other Poetry by Williams Use of imagery and enjambment Poems with similar ideas: “Spring and All” “A Woman in Front of a Bank” “The Bitter World of Spring” Historical context: Published in third collection of poetry, Sour Grapes (1921) Shortly after WWI

Activity Work in partners: Role 1: You are the widow. State the last full sentence from the poem in the tone of voice that you believe the widow would use. Role 2: You are yourself. Respond to the widow by telling her whatever you feel she needs to hear. Roles 1 & 2: Continue this dialogue as realistically as possible until you run out of things to say. Discussion question: How did this activity help you better understand or relate to the poem?

Conclusion Based on the way williams ends the poem, it is apparent that the widow believes her life is over, there will be no new beginning for her, and she wishes for death.