Spring Storm

Williams is associated with two of the key literary movements of the early 20th century: Imagism and Modernism. Williams’s poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” (see: Further Reading & Resources) is considered the quintessential example of Imagism, which was the first major Modernist movement in the English language. Imagists were proponents of simple, direct language and precise imagery. While Imagism involves a certain return to classical poetic philosophies, it also champions the use of free verse, which Williams uses consistently in his poetry. Imagism also calls for, as much as possible, focus on single images—following the assumption that intense focus on a single subject will reveal its inner essence. Imagism was inspired by visual artistic movements of the time, including Cubism. Williams was one of the more known Imagists, alongside his friends H.D. and Ezra Pound; however, for Williams Imagism became more of a jumping off point for his American-styled verse and his own poetic invention: the variable foot (see: Authorial Context). As a Modernist poet, Williams’s work is also representative of the principles of Modernism. Literary Modernism focused on newness and the redefinition of traditional poetic values.