DECONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMSS POEM THIS IS

JUST TO SAY
The genesis of Modernist literature took place in a cultural climate developed by a revolutionary
collaboration between painters,sculptors,writers,musicians,critics.Within this significant movement
that stemmed from a rejection of Enlightenment thinking, William Carlos Williams is a emblematic
case of a writer whose work was the result of a prosperous attempt at integrating ideas and concepts
from unconventional visual arts.
Born in 1883, William Carlos Williams was poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright,one of the
principal poets of the Imagist movement.As a source of inspiration on his writing, Ezra Pound is the
one to mention.The notable things is that he kept experimenting new techniques of meter and
lineation,in order to to invent an entirely fresh American poetic.The poem This is just to say is a valid
proof in this matter.
Considering Derridas literary criticism device-decontruction, the poem is found to be the carriage of
many paradoxes and contradictions relating to its own indentity. Starting from the title, we are already
expected to discern some briefly reasons for certain facts.
Additionally, the idea that the poem was once a note(therefore,notes are not poem-some would say) is
reinforced by the fact that there is no rime,no rhythm,no signs of punctuation-that forces the readers
to think of a long sentence only.The more the basic structure elements are lacking, the more it can be
conveyed in terms of interpretations, meanings and messages.There is more significance and impact
beneath these short stanzas than we can imagine.Something so mundane is actually deeply profound.
On the other hand, there are darker interpretations of this poem.It may be a repressed sexuality, since
it is adressed to his beloved one. Also, it may be or not an appologetic message, that leads the idea of
ego-centrism.The fact that temptation plays a great role, some would specify the fall of Adam and
Eve-who ate the forbidden fruit- in this disscution.
The essence is the complexity and the charm that surrounds the ordinary.The arduous part is the
preconception of the poetry in general.We have to ask ourselves:What is poetry besides?or
Anything can be a subject of a poem?.The answers consists on how much we can expand the
concept of beauty or not.
Perceiving the parallel between someones live and this poem,we will come up to the conclusion in
which it may appear tiresome to others at the first sight, but the truth is undoubtedly different .Even if
this poem does not specify the greatfulness in little things, it makes us reconsider the clicheic
assumptions of everything.This is a feeling that should resonate in every mind and spirit of the
individual.
DISSILUSIONMENT OF TEN OCLOCK-WALLACE STEVE NS
Though he did not receive widespread recognition until late in his life, Wallace Stevenswhose work
is known for its volative,transformative power of the imagination and relation to both the English
Romantics and French symbolists, and a wholly original style and sensibility: exotic, volatile , infused
with the light and color of an Impressionist painting--is now considered one of the major American
poets of the century.

The mind, for Stevens, is a world of infinite possibilities that is only limited by a person's weak
imagination. Here,the speaker describes houses that are haunted by boring, white nightgowns.Finally,
the speaker concludes that the people who wear the boring nightgowns will have boring dreams, but
the drunk, old sailors are going to have crazy dreams.

The use of anaphora or repeated phrases at the beginning (None are green,Or purple with
green rings,Or green with yellow rings,Or yellow with blue rings) denotes the intention to
persuade. The imagery here is all about bright colors and bold patterns.
In his poem, Disillusionment of Ten O Clock poet Wallace Stevens observes and comments upon the empty
and meaningless lives that many people lead. Stevens accomplishes this through the use of repetition and
comparison, and more importantly metaphysical and artistic imagery.
Throughout the first part- a shift occurring between lines 11 and 12 words with negative connotations are used
to build the empty and disillusioned tone that emanates through the poem and to set the context of the poem. The
poem begins with Stevens describing the setting as houses haunted/By white night-gowns. The use of
haunted implies the existence of ghosts or other otherworldly beings in the houses. Since Stevens does not
mean that actual ghosts abide in the houses, by implying that they do he is suggesting that the human inhabitants
of the houses hold traits that people associate with ghosts: cold, empty and dead. The ghost imagery is furthered
by the second line where the haunting figures are white night-gowns, which are usually rather ghostly attires.
Also, the fact that the figures are wearing white suggests a dullness in their lives- or lack thereof. Stevens
continues to stress the importance of the lack of color in lines 3 to 9. Stevens repeats the words none and not
which advance the negative and dark tone. The speaker states what colors the night-gowns are not- none are
green purple with green. green with yellow yellow with blue- to stress that they lack color and- since
color often symbolizes passion and life meaning. Since the night-gowns symbolize the inhabitants of the
houses, one can say that it is the inhabitants of the houses that live the meaningless lives. The use of the ghostly
imagery in the first two lines and in the lines up to line 12 sets the tone of the poem and begins to characterize its
inhabitants.
Stevens also describes an old sailor in order to contrast the sailors way of life with the inhabitants of the
houses by contrasting the different dreams that both have and their different personas. The people of the
houses, Stevens writes, are not going to dream of baboons and periwinkles, unlike the sailor who in his dreams
catches tigers/in red weather. The people not dreaming about baboons and periwinkles suggests that they are
incapable of enjoying the beauty and exotic appeal of the two items. The sailor, on the other hand, is the only one
in the poem who dreams of color and unusual situations. The vibrant red weather in the sailors dreams
contrasts the pale white night-gowns of the houses inhabitants. Also, the connotative meaning held in
describing the character as an old sailor gives the impression that the man is well traveled and has experienced
much in his life, unlike the residents of the houses who spend their time, even their dreams, inside of their
houses. While the sailor is able to escape the house that he is physically in through means of his dreams, the
houses residents are incapable of doing so and thus lead dull and uninteresting lives.
In describing the houses and the people that abide in them, poet Wallace Stevens comments on the hollow
lives led by assumedly many people but gives hope in showing that not everyone is lost to this passionless life.
Stevens ends on a relatively positive and hopeful note suggesting that all one needs to do to escape living a drab
life is use ones imagination and have an open mind.

The denotation in Stevens' poem displays his weariness of society's dull approach to life. When he
begins talking about how, The houses are haunted by white night-gowns. None are green, or purple
with green rings, he's complaining about how people in society dream of normal un-imaginative
things. But, to dream of baboons and periwinkles, is what we should strive to dream of. These things
are what the drifters, like a sailor, dream of. He uses the sailor image to convey the individual in
society who doesn't live the normal life. He could have replaced this image with a number of other

names referring to a non-traditional lifestyle, but only chose the sailor to represent all of those
individual people scattered throughout the crowd who, under all the stereotypes, really are full of great
ideas and hold what would contribute a great deal to the normal, white night-gowns, image of society.
Throughout Stevens' poem, he uses connotation to get his point across to the reader. When he speaks
of people, With socks of lace and beaded ceintures, he is describing the physical appearance of
normal, dull, people of society who are the ones who dream of boring, black and white images. He
contrasts this with the sailor's shabby appearance, drunk and asleep in his boots, but also dreaming of
catching, tigers in red weather. This contrast sends his message with a strong, clear impression to the
reader. He covers his opinion on the outward and inward appearance of both roles in society, proving
his point that the outcast members of a community are the ones who actually are living the colorful,
enriched lifestyle.
By using both negative and positive words, Stevens is able to make the distinction between the two
conflicting roles in society once again. When the author explains how, none of them [the ordinary
people in society] are strange, with socks of lace and beaded ceintures, he is using the word strange as
a negative way to describe the conforming people in the world. This word, strange, usually refers to a
negative characteristic. Stevens reverses this meaning an molds it into a positive word to describe the
non-conformists. When he changes the negative word into a positive word, the poem's message is
portrayed in a more persuasive manner.
Disillusionment of Ten O' Clock is a great example of how diction can enhance the meaning of a
poem. Stevens shows his high level of skill when arranging words in a poem to his advantage