A Study Guide for William Carlos Williams's "This Is Just to Say"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for William Carlos Williams's "This Is Just to Say," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Sep 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535840873

Book preview

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This Is Just to Say

William Carlos Williams

1934

Introduction

This Is Just to Say, a slice-of-life narrative, was written by William Carlos Williams in 1934. The title segues into a brief note from the poet to his wife, telling her that he has eaten the plums that were in the refrigerator. The purpose of this notification is to apologize for eating them when he knew that she was probably saving them for breakfast. However, he cannot resist telling her how good they were. The topic is trivial and domestic, but it fits with Williams's belief that poetry should be found in everyday life rather than major events and should focus on an object—in this case, the plums. Typical of Williams's spare style, This Is Just to Say contains only twenty-eight words arranged into three quatrains. Nonetheless, it manages to provide a snapshot of a relationship and raises questions about forgiveness and being considerate. This poem was one of the poet's personal favorites and has been popular with readers. It is considered an excellent example of an imagist poem. This Is Just to Say can be found in various anthologies of American or imagist poetry, including the book This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, in which children ages nine to twelve have written their own poems of apology and gotten back some charming replies. Of course, the poem is included in collections of Williams's poetry, such as The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, Vol. 1: 1909-1939, which can be found in many libraries and bookstores.

Author Biography

William Carlos Williams was born on September 17, 1883, in Rutherford, New Jersey, to an English father and a Puerto Rican mother. Williams's education was varied and cosmopolitan; he initially attended the Rutherford public schools, then was sent to schools in Geneva and Paris