William Carlos Williams has more followers than W.B. Yeats or T.S. Elliot, he has taken poetry to a new level of literature. In Williams poem “Tract,” he calls out the taboo that surrounds death and the process of the funerals and burial. Williams poem “Tract” presents a new idea of what  the process of death should look like and represent. He say’s “Let it be weathered—like a farm wagon—“ (line 11) in this line Williams breaks down the idea of a hearse into a less fabricated idea of carrying the body of the deceased. He is not making death morbid, but instead making it simple and more realistic. Why put on a parade for the dead, when really “Some common memento is better,/ something he prized and is known by:/ his old clothes—a few books perhaps—“ (lines 36-38) in these lines he takes the idea of the deceased individual and says instead of dressing them up for others, dress them up for them. Let the deceased truly be seen as the individual they once were.   

Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry relates to love. She wrote many poems over this theme. I found her poetry to be easy to read and enjoyed all of her poems. They seemed airy and light hearted with a feminine sense.  In the poem “Recuerdo,” Millay the use of imagery is brings forth the light hearted mood of this poem. Millay writes “And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,/ And the sun rose dripping, a bucket of gold.” (lines 11-12). I particularly like line 12 and the metaphor about the sun and a bucket of gold.  Another one of Millay’s poems I found refreshing was “First Fig,” this poem is only 4 lines, but makes a statement. Millay writes, “My candle burns at both ends;” (line 1), this line alone represents life and how many people do burn the candle at both ends, either with love or life. They want it all and do not rest or indulge in the smaller things in life and there for the flame goes out before it should. Both of these poems make use of light and life.

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” by T.S. Elliot

In the poem “The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (The Love Song), Elliot uses a dramatic monologue. The poem reads as Prufrock’s soliloquy. It is a poem about isolation from the modern world of one man. This isolation is demonstrated through imagery of the sea. Elliot also uses refrains “In the room the women come and go/ Talking of Michael Angelo.” These refrains bring the reader back to Prufrock’s continual battle of isolation. Prufrock sees himself as a man of superiority, but soon discovers that this is not true. Elliot makes reference to Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was I meant to be;” (line 111) this line shows that Prufrock believe himself to be of hero status, but not quite as superior as Hamlet was. In the last seven stanza’s Elliot introduces the romantic period by referring to Hamlet, but only uses this reference to build his anti-romantic outlook. The last line in the poem “The Love Song…” says “Till human voices wake us, and we drown” (line 131). This line is the most powerful line, because the world that Prufrock lives in will eventually be shattered, and his isolated existence will be taken with it.