Speaker
The majority of Williams's poems make use of a first-person speaker. However, there is variation in how this speaker is presented in the text. In some cases, the speaker is very clearly a stand-in for Williams, using the names of people in the poet's life or pulling from his own experiences. At the beginning of "Danse Russe," for instance, the speaker makes reference to his household, specifically using the name of his real-life nanny: "when my wife is sleeping / and the baby and Kathleen / are sleeping." In these moments, Williams uses his point of view to elucidate something about his daily life, usually with a sense of humor or pathos. Later in the same poem, after dancing nude in front of his mirror, Williams declares himself to be the "happy genius" of his home.
Even in moments when the speaker is less readily present in the events of the poem, that sense of wonder and levity is still at work. In the poem "This Is Just to Say," the speaker simultaneously apologizes to his wife for eating her plums ("Forgive me") while acknowledging how good they tasted ("they were delicious / so sweet / so cold"). It is humorous because the speaker cannot help but remember the strong impression of their sweetness, even in the midst of his guilt. Many of Williams's poems use this sort of register within the speaker's voice, capturing a minor moment in the day and unpacking its subtle emotional currents.
Ordinary Objects
Many of Williams's poems are populated with objects. Perhaps the most well-recognized of these is the red wheelbarrow in "The Red Wheelbarrow." Williams describes it as such, wasting no space in the text: "so much depends / upon / a red wheel / barrow / glazed with rain / water." With carefully chosen details, he has given the wheelbarrow precisely three qualities: its color, dependability, and "glaze" of rainwater. Williams's poems are often preoccupied with material things and finding beauty in the commonplace. The wheelbarrow is such a fitting example of these themes in that it is the main focus of the poem and is quietly imbued with both concrete and aesthetic attributes.
A similar idea is at work in the poem "Between Walls," but instead of a wheelbarrow, Williams chooses a broken glass bottle to fix his perspective on. In the text, he depicts a forgotten back area of a hospital "in which shine / the broken / pieces of a green / bottle." Like the red wheelbarrow, these shards of glass are given meaning and beauty in otherwise unremarkable circumstances. Williams was often thinking about the objects that play a central role in daily life. As such, it's not surprising that these inanimate things took on such importance in his poems.
Flossie (Wife)
While rarely making her a central figure in his work, Williams commonly referenced his wife Flossie in his poetry. He refers to her in the beginning of "Danse Russe" and is addressing her in "This Is Just To Say." While she may appear to play a relatively small role in these works, she was actually pivotal to the composition of both. In "Danse Russe" her character forms part of the speaker's concept of his household and reminds him of his responsibilities as a husband and father. In "This Is Just To Say," Williams was very specifically mimicking the texture and tone of a note she left him. Late in his career, Williams also dedicated a book of poems to her, titled Journey to Love. As evidenced by these poems, and others, Flossie's impact on and shadow over Williams's work was very pronounced.
Farmer
Williams was often interested in depicting scenes of labor. In his poem "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," the main character is a farmer plowing his fields in springtime. Williams offers the following depiction of the scene: "a farmer was ploughing / his field / the whole pageantry / of the year was / awake tingling." The farmer is shown sweating as he works, too busy with work to notice Icarus's fall into the ocean. Williams would often use everyday figures like the farmer to elevate the importance of work that was not viewed as traditionally poetic or glamorous.
