The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

The first time I saw this poem by William Carlos Williams was in Grade 9 LA class, and it still remains one of the most strange poems in my memory. This is it:

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

Ambivalent ideas organized in an even more ambiguous structure — sophisticated translation: what the hell.

So anyways, there is much analysis and many theories surrounding this poem. This was my general analysis when I was first assigned to analyze this poem in Grade 9.

I thought the purpose of the structure was to emphasize the individual ideas specific to each stanza. I believed that the color red emphasized passion or intensity, and the wheelbarrow represented work or responsibilities of society, revealing the intense collective labor required of society. The water represented the raw materials or supplies in order for citizens of society to do work. But the purpose of mentioning “rainwater”, is to add an aspect of luck which was required to even succeed. Finally, the color white represented innocence or ignorance, and the chickens represented workers in society. The idea revealed through this, is that in order for society to progress, they must first be lucky (possibly through war), and carefully manipulate their resources, including weaker and ignorant people, in order to genuinely advance.

I admit that this analysis is grasping on straws, and the idea is kind of depressing, but a very similar theory is similar to the analysis I stated. Where William Carlos Williams is referring to the Industrial Revolution, and the means to which it was made possible. But then again, with such a strange and mysterious poem, all kinds of interpretations could be made.

Another popular belief is that when William Carlos Williams was tending to a very sick young girl (as he was a physician), he turned to look through his window, and the poem is a visual description of what he saw. In this way, the poem is a subtle way to express his exhausting but hopeful thoughts towards his patient, or even the complexity of his career from the burdensome experiences and responsibilities of being a doctor. Where he is possibly reliving his complex stress in this simple poem, in the laborious yet rewarding relationship he experiences.

It’s also important to note the absence of the word “I” in this poem, which I found from researching some of the popular analyses, placing the reader more closely and intimately in the environment of William Carlos Williams, and also never presenting his own opinion.

One other answer is that William Carlos Williams literally means that “so much depends on” the various resources he wrote on. Where the wheelbarrow, and chickens are symbols of agriculture and farming, an essential need to maintain life. Although possibly not…

This is another one of the possible interpretations I had found by Stanley Archer who states the poem relies heavily on its visual imagery, and structure, how each line builds upon the former by adding a new image in the scene. The wheelbarrow is depicted to wheelbarrow with rainwater, and the speaker sees the wheelbarrow immediately after the rain, and the sun has broken the clouds and made the surface of the wheelbarrow very shiny and bright red (from the sun reflecting off the surface from fresh rain), and the chickens beautifully white. In the short time after the rain has ceased, the chickens now emerge from whatever refuge they sought during the storm, and can resume their peaceful life simply “beside” the wheelbarrow.

The poem also presents a strong idea of modernism and imagism. Some suggest William Carlos Williams expresses that poems must return to their basic principles and be honest and clear; that they have drifted too far. Some believe the poem questions, “what is art”? In a sense, the poem refuses interpretation by saying: here is a red wheelbarrow, with some chickens, and these things are beautiful and important, but you must bring something into this poem, it’s up to you to decide what it means, as Williams never gives his own emotion or feelings.

Although I doubt that a firm conclusion can ever be reached, I hope that you might get your own ideas toward the poem. For me personally, I think it’s amazing that a poem can have so many interpretations and differing ideas linked by a singular image. Share your own interpretation in the comments below! I would love to see all the ideas and your theories regarding this elusive poem!

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