How to Deconstruct a Text

Deconstructive Reading of Three Poems by Shakespeare, Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams

This blog is the part of the task of How to Deconstruct a Text in which three poems by Shakespeare, Ezra Pound, William Carols Williams will be deconstructed.

How to do Deconstruct a Text :

"Language bears within itself the necessity of its own critique."

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare :

                                   (Generated by Ideogram)

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;

Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet 18 initially discusses the eternal beauty of the beloved by comparing it to nature. The poem deliberately uses words like "temperate," "rough wind," "decline," "nature's changing course," and "fade" to highlight the fleeting and fragile nature of the natural world. By doing so, it suggests that the beloved's beauty, too, is subject to change and fading. The poem starts by comparing the beloved to a summer day, but asserts that the beloved is even better because summer has problems: strong winds damage flowers, it gets too hot or too cold, and its beauty fades with time. However, the beloved's beauty lasts forever because the poem will praise them forever. 

The use of the word "when" implies that the beloved's immortality is conditional on being preserved through the poem. This means the beloved's beauty is immortalized not by a magical quality they possess, but because the poem keeps them alive in words as long as it is read. While the poem initially seems to contrast the beloved with summer, it ultimately shows that both are temporary compared to the eternal nature of the poem. Everything alive, including the beloved, will die, but the poem and its message of love are eternal. 

The poem also suggests that love, like summer, isn't always perfect; the "rough winds" that disturb flowers might symbolize the passionate, messy moments in love. Additionally, the poet is in a central and dominant position, as the beloved's eternal beauty depends on the poet writing about it. Beauty is measured by certain standards, focusing on physical appearance and praise.

 Deconstructing Ezra Pound’s "In a Station of the Metro" : 

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

                                   (Generated by Ideogram)

This short poem at first not able to make any sense in the mind The poem seems to lack typical urban imagery like metro stations, focusing instead on more rural or natural elements like petals and flowers. This contrast might be highlighting the fleeting nature of modern life and the fragility of our connection to nature. 

The use of "patals" (perhaps meant to be "petals") and the comparison to faces could symbolize the transitory and delicate aspects of modern existence. Overall, the poem seems to suggest a contemplation on the ghostly atmosphere of modernity and the fragmented nature of our contemporary world.

Deconstructing William Carlos Williams's "The Red Wheelbarrow":

So much depend on a red wheelbarrow

Glazed with rain water, 

Besides the white chickens.

                                   (Generated by Ideogram)

The poem describes everyday objects like a wheelbarrow and chickens in vivid detail, emphasizing their materiality. The red color of the wheelbarrow symbolizes strength and visibility, contrasting with the simplicity and calmness represented by the white chickens nearby. The scene's cleanliness and shine might suggest an idealized version rather than the reality of mud and dust, creating a sense of celebration for ordinary life and appreciation for the surroundings.

Reference : 

Barad, Dilip. “Deconstructive Analysis of Ezra Pound's 'In a Station of the Metro' and William Carlos Williams's 'The Red Wheelbarrow.'” July 2024, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381943844_Deconstructive_Analysis_of_Ezra_Pound's_'In_a_Station_of_the_Metro'_and_William_Carlos_Williams's_'The_Red_Wheelbarrow'. Accessed 4 July 2024.

Barad, D. (2023, July 23). How to Deconstruct a Text. Bhavngar, Gujarat, India: DoEMKBU YouTube Channel. Retrieved 7 3, 2024, from

https://youtu.be/JDWDIEpgMGI?si=WnmtixfH9lFYj-bJ

Pound, E. (1913, April). In a Station of a Metro. Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. Retrieved 7 3, 2024, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12675/in-astation-of-the-metro

Williams, W. C. (1938). The Red Wheelbarrow. In C. MacGowan (Ed.), The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, Volume I, 1909-1939. New Directions Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 7 3, 2024, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45502/the-red-wheelbarrow