The Eyeglasses
by: Cristal, Cassandra , and
Selena
Activity: (blurred picture)
Thesis:
★ Through the use of descriptive imagery
in his poem “The Eyeglasses” William
Carlos Williams illustrates how people
often look past the importance of the
smaller things in life.
■
“all this is for eyeglasses/to discover.
But/they lie there with the gold/earpieces
folded down/ tranquilly Titicaca-” (24-28)
Overall Interpretation:
-Williams is trying to say that one does
not need human made objects to see life
for its true beauty.
“all this is for the eyeglasses
to discover. But
they lie there with the gold
earpieces folded down” (24-27)
Sense:
Meaning and
Language
Purpose/Effect:
● Person: A person who notices all these
things in life without the use of their
eyeglasses
● Point of view: third person
● Mood: Positive
★ “proclaiming” (5)
★ “tranquilly” (28)
Williams writes the
“Eyeglasses” in the form ● Allegory : It seems to have the same feel
of third person because
as the allegory of the cave. In the allegory
he wants the readers to
of the cave the people thought they knew
paint a picture of the
something from what they saw as shadows
setting of the poem. The
however they didn't until they actually saw
allegories purpose is to
it. In this poem the allegory is mainly about
explain a deeper meaning
about the eyeglasses to
people not letting things influence the way
help the reader
they see something .
understand a message
“ It is
the other is trying to
this that engages the favorable
get across. the effect is
distortion of eyeglasses
that it makes the reader
that see everything and remain
think of many different
related to mathematics-- “ (11-15)
things the poem could
mean .
Senses:
Imagery and
Symbols
Purpose/Effect:
Williams uses this
imagery to give
more description
to the reader and
help visualize the
set better
● Color imagery throughout
the poem:
○ “the small/yellow cinquefoil”
(9-10)
○ Symbolism:
“brown celluloid made to
represent tortoiseshell-” (1718)
■ “they lie there with the gold
earpieces folded down” (26-27)
■
Style:Poetry
Techniques
Purpose/Effect:
William Williams uses
the style stream
of consciousness in
order to create
the connection
between the
author and reader.
❖ Stream of
consciousness:
● This occurs
throughout the
entire poem.
Structure:
●
Form,
Organization
,
and Pattern
Purpose/Effect:
Williams emphasizes
certain lines to
make the reader
connect with the
idea of the beauty
of the world
without humanity
influencing it.
Syllables: most lines have 5-8 syllables, but two lines
are different:
○
○
○
One line has 4 syllables:
■
“made of linen” (21)
■
this shows that the line is important
because it is an example of a man made
thing.
One line has 10 syllables:
■
“this that engages the favorable” (12)
■
this shows how people only see the things
that they want to.
● whatever “engages” them
The last line has 7 syllables but only two words
■
“tranquilly Titicaca” (28)
● this shows us that this line is the most
important for it is the odd ball out
since every other line has more than
two words
Structure:
Form,
Organization
,
and Pattern
Purpose/Effect:
williams uses
enjambment to
show more of the
conscious thoughts
that are
continuous. He
adds emphasis to
specific lines and
words when using
end-stopped.
● Enjambment:
○ Only two sentences in the poem.
■ Lines 1-11
■ Lines 11-25
● End-Stopped:
○ “related to mathematics” (line 15)
○ “represent tortoiseshell” (line 18)
○ “and he owns a typewriter” (lines 22)
○ “ tranquilly Titicaca” (line 28)
● Syntax:
○ 2 Sentences in the beginning and the
middle. Does not end with a sentence.
■ This allows the focus to be on the last
part of the poem.Also it breaks up the
poem in parts in order to help the
reader understand each part.
Sound:musicality
and auditory
techniques
Purpose/Effect:
William Williams uses
alliteration to keep the
audience’s attention to
the main ideas going on
in the poem.
● Rhythm: similar line
length….most lines have
5-8 syllables)
● Alliteration:
“skin, so sweet”(8)
“parched places”(11)
remain related”(14-15)
● Free-Verse
Connection to Other Poetry
by Williams
➔ Poems with similar ideas:
“The Poor”
“The Mind Hesitant”
➔ Use of visual imagery:
● melon flowers
● clover
● cinquefoil
● parched places
➔ Historical context:
◆ During the Roaring Twenties;
● a dramatic social and political change
occurred.
Activity: Discussion
Questions
● How does the poem seek to create an
emotional response in the reader?
● In what ways does the final line/stanza
change your understanding of the poem
as a whole?
Imagism
William Carlos Williams is an imagist
because most of his poems are free
verse. Also Williams has a imagist’s
writing style because how he often
compares things together. For example
he compares Lake Titicaca to
eyeglasses.
Conclusion
Based on the way Williams ends the poem, it is evident that things are not
always as they seem. In this case we are presented with the Titicaca lake
at the end of the poem . A lake is thick and so a person can’t see to its
bottom clearly and even though man made objects could potentially help,
they ruin its true beauty.
Example : Submarine helpful = harmful → eliminating beauty
Example #2: In Titicaca the people of Uros, a small tribe in peru, have made
man made islands out of reeds that float over the Titicaca lake.
reeds + lake = harm to lake eliminating the beauty it once had