1. The Eyeglasses

2. Thesis
William Carlos Williams uses eyeglasses and other visual imagery as a representation of the world being ruled mathematically when one should truly use their imagination.

3. Overall Interpretation
A lot of things are the same
“The universality of things”
Beauty can come unexpectedly
“with clover and the small/ yellow cinquefoil in the/ parched places…”
Eyeglasses give a misleading image
“distortion of eyeglasses”
Williams wants to be independent and not use his eyeglasses
“they lie there with the gold/ earpieces folded down/ tranquilly Titcaca”

4. Sense: Meaning and Language
Allegory: Eyeglasses represent precision and helpfulness
Allusion: Titicaca
Theme: Independence
Tone: Determination
Point of View: Third person
Allegory: Representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms
Allusion: Brief reference to a person, place, or event
Titicaca is a lake on the top of the Andes mountains
Independence: This is the theme because the character is not wearing the glasses because he does not want to depend on them, he would rather see on his own

5. Senses: Imagery and Symbols
“candy”
“melon flowers”
“farmer’s shoulders”
“daughter’s accidental skin”
“yellow cinquefoil”
“eyeglasses”
“brown celluloid made to represent tortoiseshell”
“typewriter”
“gold earpieces folded down”
“tranquilly Titicaca”

6. Senses: Imagery and Symbols
Mathematics: exactness; preciseness
Eyeglasses: clearness; help
Farmer’s shoulders: hard work
Daughter’s accidental skin: reward of hard work (Father’s hard work benefits the daughter)
Linen: shows the clarity the eyeglasses provide

7. Style: Poetry Techniques
Personification: “Eyeglasses that see everything”
Juxtaposition:
“Distortion of eyeglasses”
“the quality or the farmer’s shoulders and his daughter’s accidental skin”
Irony: “But they lie there with the gold earpieces folded down”
Personification: the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate items – eyeglasses don’t actually see – just help us see more clearly
“Distortion of eyeglasses” Distortion: the action of giving a misleading account or impression – eyeglasses give the opposite of distortion
Farmers shoulders: shaped from hard work on the farm – differs from accidental skin – smooth, unharmed
Ironic that he is not wearing the glasses after he says that they “see everything” so he knows that they are helpful

8. Structure: Form, Organization, and Pattern
End-stopped: dashes at the end of lines (4x)
Enjambment:
First 10.5 lines are all one sentence
Lines are all one sentence
Periods are in the middle of lines 11 and 25
Pattern/Stanza: 3 line stanzas until the end
Repetition: Eyeglasses x3

9. Sound: Musically and Auditory Techniques
Alliteration/Consonance:
Shoulders…Skin So Sweet…Small
Parched Places
Remain Related
Man… Magazine Made
Tranquilly Titicaca

10. Activity Discuss with a partner:
Who do you see? Marilyn Monroe or Albert Einstein? Would it have been different if you saw the other? Why or why not?

11. Activity 2
Think back to your childhood. How was imagination different from what it is now? How would your life be different if it was the same?

12. Conclusion
By the way William Carlos Williams ends the poem, it can be concluded that although his point has been conveyed, the world will still take some things for granted and not see things how they truly are.