1. William Carlos Williams
The Mind Hesitant
William Carlos Williams

2. Thesis
William Carlos Williams expresses the structure of imagery techniques to enhance the metaphor of comparing the waters of a river to the heady complications of the mind to show how we as humans, never stop thinking and our thoughts are continuous.

3. Overall Interpretation
The poem, “The Mind Hesitant”, is an explanation of what our minds are made up of and how they purposely function in the eyes of Williams. In reality though Williams himself is hesitant to how the mind really works and processes, hence the first stanza. Though the poem does go on in explaining the metaphor of the mind like a river, connecting them both together.

4. Sense: Meaning and Language
Point of View: First Person
Mood: hesitancy
“a river in the mind or of the mind or in and of the mind” (Lines 2- 4)
Tone: Neutral
Theme: Mind Process
Speaker: William Carlos Williams
Allusion: The mind as the flow of water
“Sometimes the river becomes a river in the mind” (line 1-2)

5. Senses: Imagery and Symbols
Visual Imagery
“Its banks snow”
“the tide falling a dark rim”
“something of white brows bound by a ribbon”
“sooty thought”
“swiftly flowing waters”
Symbols
River/ Stream
The mind processes we go through
Tide
The constant changes of the mind
Snow
Thoughts get piled up like banks of snow
Ribbon
Sooty thoughts

6. Style: Poetry Techniques
Juxtaposition:
“ribbon of sooty thought”, “swiftly flowing waters”
“water”, “shore”
Metaphor:
River and mind
“the river becomes a river in the mind or of the mind”
Stream of Consciousness:
our thoughts are continuous and always keep going just like a stream of water
Irony:
Structure of the poem

7. Structure: Form, Organization, and Pattern
Isolated Words:
Senses
Mind senses different things like emotions and behavior
Change
How our thoughts constantly changed
Last three Stanzas:
No period-mind is a never ending process
Hyphen
Colon
Commas x3
Capital and Lower Case
First three stanzas more important than last three stanzas
Enjambment:
The first three stanzas
Incremental Repetition:
Strong rhythm (1st stanza)
Repetition:
river 2x
mind 4x
tide 2x
water 2x
Stanza:
6 stanzas
4 lines in each stanza

8. Sound: Musicality and Auditory Techniques
Consonance
Sometimes
Snow
Hesitant
Stream
Senses
Something
Sooty
Swiftly
First three stanzas
Fluent rhythm
Without any breaks
Last three stanzas
Has breaks
Makes the reader hesitate when reading (- , : )

9. Activity
Describe each picture as if it were a processing mind. Which one is most like you on how your mind works? Share amongst your group. 5 minutes.

10. Connection to Other Poems
“The Bitter World of Spring”
Uses water to symbolize something
“Seafarer”
Uses the movement of the water as a symbol

11. Conclusion
William Carlos Williams is a very honest and image driven poet. He uses the waves of the water to emphasize on our thought progressions. The structure and sound of the poem helped enrich the meaning of the mind by including hesitation; the reader themselves begin to waver while reading.