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| This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams | Summary and Question Answers |
1. What did the poet do in his wife's absence? What does the poet want to say to his wife in the poem? Why? Give reasons.
The poet ate the plums kept in ice box by his wife. His wife had kept those plums for her breakfast. Now that he has eaten them, he wanted to confess to his wife and apologize for his mistakes.
2. What are the images in the poem? what do they signify? Illustrate.
The images used in the poem have deeper meaning. The event in the poem can be compared with Adam and eve's case. They ate the apple and realized things like shame disease, anger guilt etc. It shows that the mistakes we go on making and the knowledge we go on achieving.
3. Present the theme of the poem in a few lines.
The poet presents the everyday reality in our lives in a very simple way in the present poem. The poem wants to tell us that even if we know that something we are doing is wrong to do but still we make the mistake without thinking much. We know that the mistake will be forgiven by our beloved so we inhesitantly do those mistakes. The major themes in the poem are choices, regrets and darker negative aspects of nature.
4. What is the relationship between "plums and ice box" and "delicious'', ''so sweet and so cold"? Describe.
The relationship between plums and ice box are that of host and guest. They both are interrelated in the sense that to keep the plums fresh for long time they had to be kept in the ice box similarly if nothing (like plums) are kept in the ice box the ice box is of no worth and of no use.
5. Write your interpretation of the poem in a paragraph.
Williams tries to experiment with the simple pleasures of the day-to-day conversations in the narrator's life. The narrator eats the plums probably his beloved has kept for breakfast. He requests her to forgive him for this casual mistake. He does this crime because he finds the plums delicious, sweet and juicy. The poet presents the everyday reality in our lives in a very simple way in the present poem.
