Reminders of the Past

"I feel that I would like
to go there
and fall into those flowers
and sink into the marsh near them."
"The Widow's Lament in Springtime"
William Carlos Williams


The tone of this poem was rather sad and depressing. It was filled with dismal diction such as "sorrow" "cold," "grief," "sink," etc. This tone was used to convey the feelings of the wife. The white flowers remind her of her husband whom she loved, and when she sees them bloom in the spring, she remembered how much she missed him.

In this poem, an example of an oxy moron is used. The phrase "with the cold fire that closes round me this year," is contradictory. Usually a fire is not cold, but the purpose of having a cold fire shows the internal conflict the wife is experiencing. She has a raging fire of emptiness inside her. Instead of a hot fire that is passionate and strong, she senses a great feeling of coldness and weakness.

The white flowers have a sort of conflicting image as well. On one hand, they are beautiful and signs of spring life. On the other, they are a reminder of the past, and what joy once existed in the wife's life. The white flowers represent life to most people, while the wife views them as a symbol of death and mourning.