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W i l l i a m Carlos W i l l i a m s and the Origins of the Confessional P o e m NORMA
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" A life t h a t is here a n d n o w is timeless. T h a t is the u n i v e r s a l I a m seeking: to embody that i n a new w o r k of art, a new w o r l d that is a l w a y s 'real.' " ( W i l l i a m C a r l o s W i l l i a m s , Selected Essays)
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O W t h a t the confessional poem has evolved to a widely practiced and, indeed, m e r i t o r i o u s l y r i c mode, there has been increased discussion of its origins as well as its significance i n l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y . I w o u l d advance the argument that W i l l i a m C a r l o s W i l l i a m s not o n l y originated but s t r u c t u r a l l y developed t h i s mode as used b y R o b e r t L o w e l l a n d other poets w r i t i n g today. T o date, c r i t i c s have not searched far enough i n the past for e a r l y instances of the f o r m . F o r example, i n h i s omnibus-type study, The New Poets, M . L . R o s e n t h a l refers to L o w e l l as the " d i s coverer of the confessional m o d e . " A n d i n R o b e r t P h i l l i p s ' The Confessional Poets, the f i r s t book-length study on t h i s mode, P h i l l i p s says, "confessional poetry substantially began i n 1959 when R o b e r t L o w e l l published his Life Studies." P h i l l i p s does discuss the f o r m ' s distant origins i n his Preface, but they p e r t a i n to personal outpourings w h i c h have been manifest i n the l y r i c since Sappho. W h e n he focuses more specifically on its traceable influences on L o w e l l ' s vision, P h i l l i p s cites B a u d e l a i r e and R i l k e . T h e n , m o v i n g closer to home, P h i l l i p s adds, " W i l l i a m s a n d Stevens, of course, were not confessional poets" (p. x i i ) . W i l l i a m s ' a n d Stevens' c o n t r i b u t i o n is described i n t h i s m a n n e r : 1
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They are just two of a host of A m e r i c a n poets i n the first five decades of this century, whose attitudes t o w a r d poetic m a t e r i a l made possible the achievement of confessional poetry, (p. x i i )
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P h i l l i p s ' y o k i n g of such diverse poets as W i l l i a m s a n d Stevens, enjoined b y h i s assertion that the "subjects of confessional poetry are r a r e l y beautiful; the language is frequently less s o " (p. x i i ) , demonstrates that greater c l a r i t y of a t t r i b u t i o n a n d definition is needed. I m p l i c i t i n the forg i n g of this poetic f o r m i s a new concept of the beautiful. F o r w a n t of t h i s concept, W i l l i a m s said, " w e have gone back t o worn-out modes w i t h o u r tongues h a n g i n g out a n d o u r m o u t h s d r o o l i n g after 'beauty' w h i c h is not even i n the same category under w h i c h we are seeking i t . " T h e mode developed t h r o u g h i t s o w n f o r m a l necessities, necessities articulated b y W i l l i a m s m o r e extensively t h r o u g h the poems themselves t h a n i n h i s brief, scattered statements about t h e m . L o w e l l acknowledged t h i s f o r m a l necessity — also m o r e extensively t h r o u g h the poems — a n d emulated W i l liams. T h e second section of t h i s essay is devoted to a close r e a d i n g of several poems b y W i l l i a m s a n d L o w e l l , to demonstrate t h r o u g h t h e i r parallels, the extent of W i l l i a m s ' seminal influence o n L o w e l l a n d , subsequently, on the poetic movement. a
W i l l i a m s ' pieces o n h i s relatives date as e a r l y as 1917, w h e n a poem o n h i s grandmother, " D e d i c a t i o n f o r a P l o t of G r o u n d , " appeared i n Al Que Quiere! T h e r e is no evidence that at the time W i l l i a m s was consciously f o r m u l a t i n g a confessional mode, i n w h i c h the subject m a t t e r is autobiographical o r the characters are related i n some very personal w a y to the speaker. W i l l i a m s ' recorded comments i n later career (I Wanted to Write a Poem) divulge h i s a d m i t t e d l y s i m p l i f i e d p r i n c i p l e of selectivity, " I looked a r o u n d me a n d s a w something t h a t suggested a p o e m " (p. 2 5 ) . W i l l i a m s w a s somewhat more e x p l a n a t o r y ( i n I Wanted to Write a Poem) w h e n he t a l k e d about " A d a m " and " E v e , " two companion pieces on h i s parents, p r i n t e d i n Adam & Eve & the City (1936) : 4
' E v e ' w a s w r i t t e n first. I wasn't too proud of it. I w a s r a t h e r excited w h e n I wrote i t ; it h a d no revision a n d looked sloppy on the page, but I didn't w a n t to change i t ; it seemed t y p i c a l l y m y mother. ' A d a m , ' I t h i n k , came
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off better. T h e poems used the f a c t u a l m a t e r i a l of parents' lives, (p. 57)
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W h e n " A d a m " a n d " E v e " h a d appeared, n e a r l y t w e n t y years after " D e d i c a t i o n for a P l o t of G r o u n d , " c r i t i c s s t i l l d i d not recognize i n t h e m the h e r a l d i n g of a new sub-genre. T h e y were e i t h e r ignored or deplored. Here, for example, is the reviewer's comment i n Poetry : T h e least successful a m o n g W i l l i a m s ' l a t e r poems, I think, are those unfortunate excursions i n another direct i o n : ' A d a m , ' a psychological p o r t r a i t ; 'Eve,' a study of a mother-son r e l a t i o n s h i p i n w h i c h the poet is not free of the object, but i n e x t r i c a b l y i n v o l v e d w i t h i t . 5
It is now apparent t h a t the " u n f o r t u n a t e e x c u r s i o n s " to w h i c h t h i s c r i t i c refers, are the generating principle for confessional poems. F r o m a t e c h n i c a l standpoint, W i l l i a m s was a t t e m p t i n g to d r a w upon his immediate environment, i n rejection of both the Symboliste mode a n d of the " e x i l e " poetry promulgated b y E l i o t i n the twenties a n d thirties. L o w e l l w o u l d follow W i l l i a m s ' example w h e n he wrote Life Studies. W i l l i a m s employed place names a n d concrete, domestic details i n these poems, a practice w h i c h L o w e l l w o u l d c a r r y to even greater levels of documentary accuracy. A n d W i l l i a m s used prosody to i m i t a t e the contours of conversational language, w h i c h method, apart f r o m L o w e l l ' s Whitmanesque long l i n e , L o w e l l also closely imitated. 6
It w o u l d be relevant at t h i s juncture to m e n t i o n the m a n n e r i n w h i c h W i l l i a m s ' confessional poems represented a significant departure f r o m c e r t a i n R o m a n t i c l y r i c s . I n his h i g h l y i n f l u e n t i a l essay on W i l l i a m s i n Poets of Reality, J . H i l l i s M i l l e r claimed t h a t W i l l i a m s was the first poet to completely break w i t h the subject-object d u a l i s m generally embodied i n R o m a n t i c poetry. M i l l e r presented his a r g u ment b y e x a m i n i n g such Objectivist pieces as " T h e R e d W h e e l b a r r o w " a n d " Y o u n g S y c a m o r e , " poems of process w h i c h render t h e i r subjects i n a l l t h e i r o r d i n a r y immediacy. These subjects, according to M i l l e r , are not intended to function as symbols or as tools for a dialectical structure. A l t h o u g h M i l l e r d i d not deal w i t h the inherent i m m e d i a c y 7
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of W i l l i a m s ' confessional poems, the same poetic process m a y be found at w o r k i n them. W i l l i a m s ' departure f r o m the subject-object d u a l i s m becomes m o r e apparent w h e n his poems are compared w i t h representative l y r i c s b y W o r d s w o r t h or Coleridge. Inasmuch as Coleridge and W o r d s w o r t h addressed themselves to an infant son, a daughter, wife or sister — as, for example, i n " F r o s t at M i d n i g h t , " " I t Is a Beauteous E v e n i n g , " " A e o l i a n H a r p " and Tintern Abbey — these personages r e m a i n i n the background of meditative compositions, i n w h i c h some aspect of N a t u r e dominates the imagery. T h e p a r t i c u l a r i n d i v i d uals are transformed or absorbed into a larger philosophical context. I n W i l l i a m s ' poems the actual relatives are the theme. T h e y are presented, w i t h all t h e i r shortcomings, i n un-transformed b a c k d r o p : There were some d i r t y plates and a glass of m i l k beside her on a s m a l l table near the rank,disheveled b e d ( " L a s t W o r d s of M y E n g l i s h G r a n d m o t h e r " ) 8
There is no projection of W i l l i a m s ' personages into a cosmic setting. T h e y r e m a i n rooted i n clay, as w i l l m a n y characters i n later confessional poetry. T h e l i n k between W i l l i a m s ' v e r y early poems on his relatives, a n d L o w e l l ' s f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h such poems, is suggested i n two sources. In the first, a Paris Review interview of L o w e l l i n 1961, L o w e l l speaks of his e a r l y fascination w i t h W i l l i a m s ' poetry. A f t e r a t t e m p t i n g to i m i t a t e h i m i n college days, L o w e l l says he abandoned W i l l i a m s ' v u l g a r " d e m o c r a t i c " style for the f o r m a l , symbolist m a n n e r of C r a n e and E l i o t . It was not u n t i l several decades later that L o w e l l went back to W i l l i a m s , acknowledging how his unrelenting fidelity to life glowingly transfigured his subject matter. I n the second source, an article i n Hudson Review, " L o w e l l renders a tribute to W i l l i a m s , i n d i c a t i n g that the elder poet h a d become a " m o d e l " and a " l i b e r a t o r . " H e speaks of W i l l i a m s ' prosodie innovations a n d his t r u l y A m e r i c a n d i c t i o n ; he also claims, " D r . W i l l i a m s a n d his 8
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w o r k are p a r t of m e " (p. 530). L o w e l l refers to W i l l i a m s ' v i t a l use of the " s t a b b i n g d e t a i l , " t h a t brings w i t h i t " t h e u n i v e r s a l t h a t belonged to t h i s detail and nowhere else" (p. 531). These observations offer useful evidence of the extent to w h i c h L o w e l l ' s attitudes were reshaped by W i l liams. B u t a comparison between " A d a m " and " E v e " and two L o w e l l poems on h i s parents — " T e r m i n a l D a y s at B e v e r l y F a r m s " and " S a i l i n g f r o m R a p a l l o , " f r o m Life Studies —• demonstrates w i t h greater p a r t i c u l a r i t y how L o w e l l adapted the " s t a b b i n g d e t a i l . " " A d a m " is a b i o g r a p h i c a l sketch of W i l l i a m s ' father. It deals w i t h his p h y s i c a l as w e l l as h i s emotional environment. T h e elder M r . W i l l i a m s was a n E n g l i s h m a n who grew up on a C a r i b b e a n island. I n the opening lines, the lack of reconciliation between his B r i t i s h sense of restraint and the tropic sensuality w h i c h surrounded h i m , is described literally : H e g r e w up by the sea on a hot i s l a n d inhabited by negroes •— mostly. T h e r e he built h i m s e l f a boat a n d a separate r o o m close to the w a t e r for a piano on w h i c h he practiced •— by sheer doggedness and strength of purpose striving like an E n g l i s h m a n (11. 1-11)
Incapable of i n t e g r a t i n g w i t h his surroundings, however, he never felt quite at ease w i t h his life or reality. A f t e r the first stanza, t h i s i n c o m p a t a b i l i t y is treated b y W i l l a i m s w i t h a n increasing use of m e t a p h o r : Thence he was d r i v e n out of P a r a d i s e •— to taste the death t h a t duty b r i n g s so d a i n t i l y , so m i n c i n g l y (11. 16-19)
F r o m t h i s fatal prescription, r e l a t i n g specifically to the father, W i l l i a m s moves to a wider, m o r e u n i v e r s a l statement of t h i s phenomenon:
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U n d e r n e a t h the whisperings of tropic n i g h t s there is a d a r k e r w h i s p e r i n g that death invents especially for n o r t h e r n m e n (11. 45-49)
T h e n , i n a r h y t h m s i m u l a t i n g the expansion-contraction of the heartbeat, the poem s h r i n k s back i n context f r o m u n i versal referent " n o r t h e r n m e n , " to " h e " : N a k e d on a r a f t he could see the barracudas w a i t i n g to castrate h i m (11. 61-63)
A f t e r t h i s stanza, the poem retains a t h i r d person singular reference to the end. A n oscillation of imagery, m o v i n g f r o m the r e a l to the fictive, r u n s t h r o u g h the stanzas: as i n the following, where line 79 is factual a n d line 80 is figurative: m u l e b a c k over C o s t a R i c a eating pâtés of b l a c k ants
or i n the following, i n w h i c h the f i r s t two lines are factual, the t h i r d f i g u r a t i v e : A n d the L a t i n ladies a d m i r e d h i m a n d under t h e i r smiles d a r t l e d [sic] the dagger of despair (11. 81-83)
A l l i t e r a t i o n i n line 83 f u r t h e r accentuates t h i s difference between fact a n d metaphor. I n the f i n a l stanza of " A d a m , " W i l l i a m s suggests the sense of doom t h a t characterizes the life of such a personality. T h e prosody reinforces i t t h r o u g h slowly paced r h y t h m s : H e never h a d but the one home s t a r i n g h i m i n the eye coldly and w i t h patience •— without a murmur, silently a desperate, u n v a r y i n g silence to the u n h u r r i e d last. (11. 94-101)
T h e ominous a n d u n i f y i n g use of sibilants: "staring," " p a t i e n c e , " " s i l e n t l y , " "desperate," " s i l e n c e , " " l a s t , " also conveys t h i s solemn tone.
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M o r e t h a n t w e n t y years elapse between the appearance of " A d a m " a n d L o w e l l ' s piece on h i s father, " T e r m i n a l D a y s at B e v e r l y F a r m s . " Y e t , the resemblance is s t r i k i n g . L o w e l l , too, depicts his father as ill-at-ease i n his universe. T h i s fact is s u b t l y suggested t h r o u g h description. A " b o u l d e r " i n the elder L o w e l l ' s garden is juxtaposed b y a description of the f a t h e r h i m s e l f : A t B e v e r l y F a r m s , a portly, u n c o m f o r t a b l e boulder bulked i n the garden's center — a n i r r e g u l a r touch. A f t e r his B o u r b o n 'old fashioned,' F a t h e r , bronzed, breezy, a shade too ruddy, swayed as i f o n deck-duty under his sixpointed s t a r - l a n t e r n 11
Despite his apparent appearance of p h y s i c a l well-being, " H i s head was efficient a n d hairless, h i s n e w l y dieted figure was v i t a l l y t r i m , " the paradox of h i s i m m i n e n t death is d r a m a t i z e d b y the immediate e n v i r o n s : . . . sky-blue t r a c k s of the c o m m u t e r s ' r a i l r o a d shone l i k e a double-barrelled shotgun t h r o u g h the scarlet late A u g u s t sumac, m u l t i p l y i n g l i k e cancer at t h e i r garden's b o r d e r . " (11. 18-22)
A s i n " A d a m , " the setting here, too, spells out doom. L o w e l l ' s technique of m i x i n g fact w i t h f i g u r a t i v e language is s i m i l a r to t h a t of W i l l i a m s . T h u s , A d a m h a d b u i l t h i m self a "separate r o o m " to house the " p i a n o on w h i c h he p r a c t i c e d " (fact). A d a m is t h e n depicted as " s t r i v i n g / l i k e a n E n g l i s h m a n / t o emulate h i s S p a n i s h f r i e n d a n d i d o l — the w e a t h e r ! " ( f i g u r a t i v e ) . L o w e l l also alternates between these two elements w h e n d e s c r i b i n g h i s father's devotion to h i s c a r : but his f r i e n d w a s his l i t t l e b l a c k Chevie, g a r a g e d l i k e a s a c r i f i c i a l steer 1 w i t h gilded hooves, I yet s e n s a t i o n a l l y sober, I a n d w i t h less side t h a n a n o l d d a n c i n g p u m p . J (11. 25-29)
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A n d indeed, a lack of i n t e g r a t i o n w i t h the immediate environment has a s i m i l a r effect o n b o t h m e n . Adam progresses t h r o u g h life as if i n mindless c o m p u l s i o n :
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he never t u r n e d back but kept a cold eye a l w a y s on the inevitable end never w i n g i n g — never to unbend (11. 69-72)
L o w e l l ' s father e x h i b i t s a s i m i l a r persistence: E a c h m o r n i n g at eight-thirty, inattentive a n d b e a m i n g , loaded w i t h his 'cale' a n d ' t r i g ' books, his clipper ship statistics, and his i v o r y slide rule, F a t h e r stole off w i t h the Chevie to loaf i n the M a r i t i m e M u s e u m at S a l e m . (11. 33-39)
L i k e the death of W i l l i a m s ' father, w h i c h the o l d m a n accepted " w i t h patience/without a m u r m u r , " L o w e l l ' s father expires resignedly: " F a t h e r ' s death w a s abrupt a n d u n p r o t e s t i n g . " L o w e l l ' s prosody, l i k e t h a t of W i l l i a m s , has no f i x e d p a t t e r n throughout the poem. W h e n stressing a p a r a d o x i c a l sense of fate, both poets tend to employ the stately three-stress, i a m b i c line. A l s o , L o w e l l ' s sound struct u r e functions i n a m a n n e r s i m i l a r t o W i l l i a m s ' . F o r example, i n the f i r s t stanza of " T e r m i n a l D a y s , " he l i n k s the setting to the m a n t h r o u g h the preponderance of b sounds: "Beverly," "boulder," "bulked," "Bourbon," "bronzed," "breezy." T h e companion pieces to " A d a m " a n d " T e r m i n a l D a y s " are about the poets' mothers. A s i m i l a r i t y , apparent i n the latter group, rests i n t h e f o r m of address. Whereas " A d a m " a n d " T e r m i n a l D a y s " are i n t h i r d person n a r r a t i v e , the alternate pieces employ direct address. T h i s creates a sense of greater i n t i m a c y between the speakers a n d t h e i r mothers : P a r d o n m y injuries now Jhat ^ou^are old— F o r g i v e nie m y awkwardnesses J " E y e , " II. 1-3) Y o u r nurse could only speak Italian, but after twenty minutes I could imagine your f i n a l week, arid tears r a n down m y cheeks ( " S a i l i n g , " 11. 1-31
A p a r t f r o m the prosodie difference i n b o t h these passages — namely, the l o n g line i n L o w e l l ' s poem — the stress
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patterns function i n an identical fashion. T h e y both reveal a self-abnegation on the p a r t of the speaker (weak stress on " m y " and "I") a n d strong stress on words suggesting suffering ( " i n j u r i e s , " " n u r s e , " " t e a r s " ) . T h e m o t h e r figures are progressively inflated t h r o u g h this technique. T h e d i c t i o n i n " E v e " is r e m a r k a b l y modern. Readers today have come to expect a v e r n a c u l a r tone i n poetry. B u t it is easy to imagine readers' reactions, i n the thirties, to W i l l i a m s : " I ' l l give y o u b r a n d y / o r wine/whenever I t h i n k y o u need i t . " B i o g r a p h i c a l poems i n t h i s period were essentially proper p o r t r a i t s . T h e poetic line s t i l l opened i n upper case, the language was f o r m a l , and o r d i n a r y details were b a r e l y used. Here, to cite another poet for one brief example, is a n excerpt f r o m a poem b y R o b e r t P e n n W a r r e n , w r i t t e n i n the t h i r t i e s , also on his mother: Such is the substance of this legacy: A f r a g i l e v i s i o n fed of a c r i d blood, Whose sweet process m a y bloom i n gratitude F o r the w o r t h i e r gift of her m o r t a l i t y . ("Letters of a M o t h e r , " 11. 24-27)
T h e sort of i n t i m a t e revelation that we now consider sine qua non for confessional verse, is present i n " E v e " : I sometimes detect i n y o u r face a puzzled pity f o r me y o u r son •— I have never been close to you — mostly your own fault; i n that I a m l i k e you. (11. 6-11)
T h e dialogue the poet sustains is so personal, t h a t " E v e " is even less allusive and figurative t h a n " A d a m . " In t h i s piece, W i l l i a m s does not move out to the u n i v e r s a l at a l l , but remains p a r t i c u l a r i n his reference. T h e m y t h of t h e F a l l , w h i c h is i r o n i c a l l y projected i n " A d a m , " ("Thence he was driven/out of P a r a d i s e ; " " G o d ' s h a n d y m a n / g o i n g quietly into hell's m o u t h " ; " D u t y / t h e angel/which w i t h w h i p i n h a n d " ) is not employed i n " E v e . " It is as t h o u g h the speaker cannot bear to break the i n t e n s i t y of address
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w i t h something as removed as b i b l i c a l allusion. Instead, he relentlessly pursues his dialogue w i t h the indomitable w o m a n , w h o refuses to loosen her powerful h o l d on life, and h i m : One w o u l d t h i n k y o u w o u l d be reconciled w i t h T i m e instead of c l a w i n g at H i m t h a t way, t e r r i f i e d i n the n i g h t — s c r e a m i n g out u n w i l l i n g , unappeased (11. 104-109)
H i s fierce ambivalence t o w a r d her, a delicate c o m b i n a t i o n of h o s t i l i t y a n d love, is subsumed into a v o w : I w i l l w r i t e a book about y o u — m a k i n g y o u live (in a book!) as y o u s t i l l desperately w a n t to l i v e — to live a l w a y s — u n f o r g i v i n g (11. 82-86)
T h i s i m m e d i a c y of tone is reinforced b y j e r k y , staccato r h y t h m s . Moreover, the sound s t r u c t u r e is not endowed w i t h a l l i t e r a t i v e or i n t e r n a l r h y m e devices. T h e s t y l i s t i c effect w o u l d be one of prose, were i t not for the overw h e l m i n g i n t e n s i t y of the piece. " E v e " a n d " S a i l i n g f r o m R a p a l l o " have fewer procedural s i m i l a r i t i e s t h a n do the pieces on the fathers. W h a t t h e y share is a t o n a l elevation of the m o t h e r figure, despite a retention of concrete pathetic details. F o r example, W i l l i a m s describes his aged m o t h e r as: reflecting the l i g h t n i n g s of creation and the m o o n — 'Cest l a vieillesse inexorable q u ' a r r i v e ! ' (11. 99-103)
S i m i l a r l y , w h e n describing h i s accompaniment of mother's corpse f r o m Italy, L o w e l l ' s images suggest death of a h e r o : M o t h e r t r a v e l l e d first-class i n the h o l d ; her Risorgimento b l a c k a n d gold casket w a s l i k e Napoleon's at the Invalides (11. 11-13)
his the
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W h e n W i l l i a m s was w o r k i n g t h r o u g h h i s poetic theory i n the e a r l y decades of the century, his goal was to achieve an open l y r i c f o r m . S u c h a f o r m w o u l d conform w i t h h i s belief t h a t a poem exists i n co-extension w i t h the universe, not as a separate, box-like object. I n conjunction w i t h this principle, W i l l i a m s h a d f a i t h i n the significance of the " l o c a l , " where a n y t h i n g is fit subject for poetry. H e felt no compulsion to alter w h a t he found; since there is integr i t y i n a l l things, " d e t a i l is its o w n s o l u t i o n . " T h i s democ r a t i c attitude also made W i l l i a m s amenable to the view that prose a n d poetry functioned i n no l i t e r a r y h i e r a r c h y of values. T h e poet could intersperse b o t h w i t h i n a single composition; thus, he placed prosaic colloquialisms side by side w i t h p u r e l y poetic passages. 12
T h e c o m b i n a t i o n of these divergent concepts allowed for the evolution of a n aesthetically successful confessional mode. W i l l i a m s ' theory, t h a t only i n the local m a y we f i n d the universal, functioned as s t r u c t u r a l technique i n his biographical poems. H e could embody a n d project the sense of a t o t a l life i n a m i n i m u m of p a r t i c u l a r s . For example, i n " A d a m , " the father's boyhood environment is succinctly recreated t h r o u g h two common nouns: " a l l the curious memories that come with/shells a n d h u r r i c a n e s . " T h i s p a r i n g down process also permits a somewhat casual use of synechdoche a n d m e t o n y m y ; these v e r y t r a d i t i o n a l categories of figurative speech are vigorously restored b y W i l l i a m s , a n d function to elicit characterization. Thus, the m u s i c r o o m i n " A d a m " signifies the father's "doggedness." L o w e l l effectively adapts W i l l i a m s ' economy of suggestion; i n his poems, h i s f a m i l y ' s N e w E n g l a n d sense of d i g n i t y a n d decorum is established t h r o u g h a m i n i m u m of images. A few cemetery i t e m s : " t h e pink-veined slice of m a r b l e , " or the stone inscriptions on w h i c h " F r o s t h a d g i v e n t h e i r names a d i a m o n d edge," i m p a r t a q u a l i t y of character. W i l l i a m s ' evocation of his grandmother (in
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" D e d i c a t i o n for a P l o t of G r o u n d " ) also emerges t h r o u g h cemetery passages: " S h e grubbed t h i s e a r t h w i t h her own hands . . . . If y o u can b r i n g n o t h i n g to this place/ but y o u r carcass, keep o u t . " I n t h i s instance, the relative is port r a y e d as a pioneeringly courageous woman. It is W i l l i a m s ' use of synthesis i n depicting character that redeems potentially sentimental m a t e r i a l . T h u s , his realistic d i c t i o n is fused w i t h a motif, elevating tone. F o r example, i n " T h e L a s t W o r d s of M y E n g l i s h G r a n d m o t h e r , " W i l l i a m s reiterates her actual words, yet incorporates, t h r o u g h motif, the sense of exhaustion after a life, f u l l y l i v e d : " W h a t are a l l those fuzzy-looking things out t h e r e ? / Trees? W e l l , I ' m tired/of t h e m . " L o w e l l also utilizes a tree m o t i f to characterize his grandparents' approaching death. T h u s , i n " G r a n d p a r e n t s , " " t h e d r y road dust rises to whiten/the fatigued e l m leaves." W i l l i a m s wanted to combine his recovery of the past w i t h the v i v i d present. H e achieved this process of actualization by juxtaposing m e m o r y w i t h a present consciousness. F o r example, i n " D e d i c a t i o n , " W i l l i a m s recounts the major events of h i s grandmother's life i n catalogue-type n a r r a t i v e : "married,/lost h e r h u s b a n d , " " s a i l e d for N e w Y o r k , " " m e t her second h u s b a n d , " " b o r e three m o r e c h i l d r e n , " " r a n adrift on F i r e I s l a n d . " T h i s telescoping, i n t h i r t y - o d d lines w h i c h simulate b i b l i c a l style, makes a lengthy a n d undistinguished life seem the b i o g r a p h y of a prominent, d r a m a t i c personage. L o w e l l , i n s i m i l a r fashion, employs m e m o r y a n d condensation of details to create memorable characters. I n " G r a n d p a r e n t s , " his childhood impression is reproduced as v i v i d present: "Grandmother, like a Mohammedan, still wears her thick/lavender m o u r n i n g and touring veil." T h e examples offered i n t h i s paper demonstrate how W i l l i a m s a n d L o w e l l exploited the tensions and trappings of personal experience. W h a t W i l l i a m s attempted t h r o u g h experimental impulse, back i n the twenties, has become a vogue for contemporary poets. It is therefore i m p o r t a n t
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that W i l l i a m s be granted his seminal position i n t h i s poetic movement, w h i c h L o w e l l , t h r o u g h Life Studies, technically bridged for present day poets. NOTES i (Oxford U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1967), p. 26. Crosscurrents Series (Carbondale: S. Illinois U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1973), p. ix. '^Selected Essays ( N e w Directions, 1954), p. 339. e d . E d i t h H e a l (Boston: Beacon, 1958). (September, 1939), 333. I n a n interview w i t h W a l t e r Sutton (Minnesota Review I S p r i n g 1961, pp. 309-24), W i l l i a m s acknowledged W h i t m a n as the fountainhead of modern poetry. H e felt, however, that " W h i t man's line is too l o n g for the modern poet," whose prosodie structures should reproduce the contours of today's speech patterns. i (Cambridge, M a s s . : H a r v a r d U n i v . Press, 1965), pp. 285-359. T h i s and a l l subsequent citations f r o m poems by W i l l i a m s are f r o m The Collected Earlier Poems of William Carlos Williams ( N e w Directions, N.Y., 1951). »"The A r t of P o e t r y , " (Winter-Spring, 1961), 56-95. " ( W i n t e r 1961-2). T h i s and a l l subsequent citations f r o m poems b y L o w e l l are f r o m Life Studies ( F a r r a r , S t r a u s & Cudahy, N.Y., 1959), 11. 1-7. P h r a s e found a m o n g notes i n W i l l i a m s ' files, Y a l e C o l l e c t i o n of A m e r i c a n L i t e r a t u r e , Beinecke R a r e B o o k & M a n u s c r i p t L i b rary, Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y . 2
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