By the road to the contagious hospital, under the surge of the blue, mottled clouds driven from the northeast—a
cold wind.
Beyond, the waste of broad, muddy fields, brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen alongside patches of
standing water and the scattering of tall trees.
All along the road the reddish, purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy stuff of bushes, and small trees with dead,
brown leaves under them leafless vines—
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish, dazed spring approaches—
They enter the new world naked, cold, uncertain of all save that they enter.
All about them the cold, familiar wind.
Now the grass, tomorrow the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf.
One by one objects are defined—
It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf.
But now the stark dignity of entrance—
Still, the profound change has come upon them: rooted, they grip down and begin to awaken.
Language/Structure/Style: Missing Words/Punctuation
What effect do these additional words and punctuation have on the poem? For what purpose does
Williams leave them out?
By the road to the contagious hospital, under the surge of the blue, mottled clouds driven from the northeast—a
cold wind [blows].
Beyond, [is] the waste of broad, muddy fields, brown with dried weeds, [which are] standing and fallen
alongside patches of standing water and the scattering of tall trees.
All along the road [are] the reddish, purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy stuff of bushes, and [near them are]
small trees with dead, brown leaves under them [and] leafless vines—
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish, dazed spring approaches—
They [?] enter the new world naked, cold, uncertain of all save that they enter.
All about them [?] the cold, familiar wind [blows].
Now the grass [comes to life], tomorrow the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf [will appear].
One by one objects are defined—
It [spring?] quickens, [bringing] clarity, outline of leaf.
But now the stark dignity of entrance—
Still, the profound change has come upon them: rooted, they grip down and begin to awaken.
Language/Style: Location
What do you notice about the words indicating location? For what purpose does Williams use these
words? Why is the setting of the poem on/along a road?
By the road to the contagious hospital, under the surge of the blue, mottled clouds driven from the northeast—a
cold wind [blows].
Beyond, [is] the waste of broad, muddy fields, brown with dried weeds, [which are] standing and fallen
alongside patches of standing water and the scattering of tall trees.
All along the road [are] the reddish, purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy stuff of bushes, and [near them are]
small trees with dead, brown leaves under them [and] leafless vines—
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish, dazed spring approaches—
They [?] enter the new world naked, cold, uncertain of all save that they enter.
All about them [?] the cold, familiar wind [blows].
Now the grass [comes to life], tomorrow the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf [will appear].
One by one objects are defined—
It [spring?] quickens, [bringing] clarity, outline of leaf.
But now the stark dignity of entrance—
Still, the profound change has come upon them: rooted, they grip down and begin to awaken.
Language/Style: Verbs
What do you notice about the verbs Williams uses? For what purpose does Williams use verbs in this
way?
By the road to the contagious hospital, under the surge of the blue, mottled clouds driven from the northeast—a
cold wind [blows].
Beyond, [is] the waste of broad, muddy fields, brown with dried weeds, [which are] standing and fallen
alongside patches of standing water and the scattering of tall trees.
All along the road [are] the reddish, purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy stuff of bushes, and [near them are]
small trees with dead, brown leaves under them [and] leafless vines—
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish, dazed spring approaches—
They [?] enter the new world naked, cold, uncertain of all save that they enter.
All about them [?] the cold, familiar wind [blows].
Now the grass [comes to life], tomorrow the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf [will appear].
One by one objects are defined—
It [spring?] quickens, [bringing] clarity, outline of leaf.
But now the stark dignity of entrance—
Still, the profound change has come upon them: rooted, they grip down and begin to awaken.
Language/Structure/Sound: Repetition
What do you notice about repetition in the poem? For what purpose does Williams repeat these words?
By the road to the contagious hospital, under the surge of the blue, mottled clouds driven from the northeast—a
cold wind [blows].
Beyond, [is] the waste of broad, muddy fields, brown with dried weeds, [which are] standing and fallen
alongside patches of standing water and the scattering of tall trees.
All along the road [are] the reddish, purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy stuff of bushes, and [near them are]
small trees with dead, brown leaves under them [and] leafless vines—
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish, dazed spring approaches—
They [?] enter the new world naked, cold, uncertain of all save that they enter.
All about them [?] the cold, familiar wind [blows].
Now the grass [comes to life], tomorrow the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf [will appear].
One by one objects are defined—
It [spring?] quickens, [bringing] clarity, outline of leaf.
But now the stark dignity of entrance—
Still, the profound change has come upon them: rooted, they grip down and begin to awaken.
Some Other Techniques Used:
-personification
-enjambment
-juxtaposition
-mood