Pastoral by William Carlos Williams

When I was younger
it was plain to me
I must make something of myself.
Older now
I walk back streets
admiring the houses
of the very poor:
roof out of line with sides
the yards cluttered
with old chicken wire, ashes,
furniture gone wrong;
the fences and outhouses
built of barrel staves
and parts of boxes, all,
if I am fortunate,
smeared a bluish green
that properly weathered
pleases me best of all colors.
No one
will believe this
of vast import to the nation.


This poem deals with the authors life, and what he loves about his surrounding world. Things that people don’t care about, are very important to him. The life in the country-like neighborhood is what he really likes. He uses high quality words, which the reader appreciates because they deliver a real deep sense of what he is trying to say and how. Every simple, as well as detailed word, really helped to understand the context and message William Carlos Williams is trying to bring across. His life is different to those, of the vast majority of the population. I think that this really grabs the readers mind and reminds him/her to think about what really is important to them. Is it the prestige of driving a big car, wearing a big watch, or wearing a brand shirt? Or is it the environment which really makes us comfortable and we love to be in? Everyone should ask himself these questions at least once in a while. It really makes us realize what is important, and what isn't. No matter what it is, that is important to an individual, he should always think about it when complaining about anything; we have more privileges than we realize in the first second.

Funeral Blues

This poem is dealing with death once again. This time though, it deals with a couple and one of them has died. It is said that everyone else should show respect and sympathy towards this. It is very straight forward, and easy to understand. There are no phrases or words which could confuse a 10th grade student reader, and none of them are more important than the others. The lines in each stanza emphasize a topic by giving examples of what should happen because of the death. I think that it is really sad how life can end, and how thankful we should be for every day. We shouldn’t just take it as granted, we should appreciate and respect the opportunities we are offered. The days we are healthy and happy, count so much, and we should regard each and every one as being special.

Totally like whatever, you know?

I think that this is very ironic. He says that he doesn’t like all of these things, but actually speaks like it. I was wondering why someone would actually to this. There were no words or phrases which confused me in any form. The words which got repeated over and over again such as like, and the ?'s really helped to understand the text and the meaning of it. Those words also have very big importance which s shown by them being repeated over and over again. Those are important to show how useless and weird the modern slang is. The second time I read the poem, I realized that it really emphasizes the point it is trying to make. No areas were left, which confused me. This poem evokes the feeling that I really have to watch out how I speak and when I speak what. I think that this is exactly what the poem wants us to do.

Do Not Go Gentile Into That Good Night

I personally like this poem. In the beginning, I thought this poem was very confusing, but the third time I read it, I realized what it really was about and I could draw conclusions from it. It lets the reader interpret a lot if different things into the words presented. In my case, I think that this poem is about a son and father, where the father is dying and the son has to say good bye. He wants to keep him alive, and tries to convince him to survive. This is a very sad situation; the more I think about it, the more felling of frustration for the son get evoked in me. Every sentence in this poem really has a meaning, either to emphasize on something, or to inform the reader on what's happening. This poem is really worthwhile reading because it displays a tragic situation of life, which most of us will most probably have to realize once.