The Dance (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Carlos Williams
- First Published: 1944
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
The Poem
William Carlos Williams’s “The Dance” consists of twelve lines of rhythmic verse written in response to a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569). The painting, “The Kermess,” or “Peasant Dance,” depicts sturdy, well-fed peasants on holiday—dancing, drinking, making music, venting the sexual impulse, and abandoning themselves to the spirit of carnival. Williams’s poem captures the hearty vitality that the painting evokes. Through concrete visual and auditory images and through the strong, measured rhythm, Williams renders the hearty...
[The entire page is 1598 words long]
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