This Is Just To Say Analysis

Though Williams claimed in an interview with John Gerber (source), that "This Is Just To Say" was metrically regular, meaning that it has a regular rhythm, he must have meant this visually, and not...

If the speaker of this poem were, indeed, William Carlos Williams, he would have been in his fifties, married, and a father when it was published. So, we'd guess that he would be writing this note...

Plums? Icebox? We're totally in a kitchen. In fact, the poem itself could be a note on the refrigerator. It could literally be in a kitchen. See, "This Is Just To Say" was published in 1934, when r...

Each little stanza of this poem is like a sweet and juicy plum popped into the mouth. Read the poem aloud and try to taste the plums as you do. See, that's just the thing: this poem isn't about sou...

The title of this poem seems like it could have been the first line. When you read the poem aloud, the title and the first line flow together nicely. Some people say that this poem is supposed to b...

Williams wrote many poems that are longer and more complex than this one, sure. But his poetry on the whole often reflects everyday American life and everyday American language. A doctor whose pati...

If you read this poem and think, "I don't get it, anyone could write something like that," then, actually, you've got it. The hardest part about this poem is getting over our preconceptions about p...

Williams wasn't just a fan of plum fruits in his poems. He was also into plum trees. Check out "The Widow's Lament in Springtime," for more stone fruit stanzas.Fun folks love to spoof "This Is Just...

It's a kitchen. Get your mind out of the gutter.