1. A Portrait of The Times Alexis Hernandez Alejandra Herrera John Rolex-Manansala

2. Thesis William Carlos Williams shows the disdain society has on the lower class through diction/imagery.

3. Two W.P.A. men stood in the new sluiceway overlooking the river- One was pissing while the other showed by his red jagged face the immemorial tragedy of lack-love while an old squint-eyed woman In a black dress and clutching a bunch of late chrysanthemums to her fatted bosoms turned her back on them at the corner

4.  Tone/mood: Beginning:  Gloomy ex: “stood in the new sluiceway overlooking the river-” End:  Sad and Dark; Transitions to an even more negative mood/tone Ex: Transitions “ jagged face the immemorial tragedy…” Last three lines of the poem shows a critical tone

5.  Structure Enjambment Everything before the dash represents the setting of the poem Three-line stanzas  Short because Williams’ wants to give a snapshot of everything that happens, and emphasizes the stanzas by not including punctuation

6.  Imagery Stanzas 1&2

7.  Imagery Stanza 3  Use of color; Red anger and aggression, especially when using the word “jagged” Stanza 5  Use of color: black shows the depression/negativity

8.  Rhyme Words “overlooking” and “Pissing”  Alliteration The word “lack-love” creates rhythm within the poem as well as “squint-eyed” The words beginning with the letter b and c

9.  Interpretation The hardships in their lives brings forth the image of sadness, because they’re poor and sad the woman wants nothing to do with them and chooses to turn her back on them because she is in a higher class and feels as though she is better than them.

10.  The woman is of higher class In the 7 th stanzas, the woman is described as having “fatted bosoms” which means she is bigger, which means she is fed well, and being fed well or eating large amounts, means she is of wealth. In the 8 th stanza she turns her back on the men as she turns the corner, because women of her status

11.  The Poor Men Peed in the river; shows they are of lower class society The way Williams’ describes one of the men with a “jagged face” gives the impression the man lives a hard life filled with struggles. They’re W.P.A. men; men without a set job during the great depression-shows they are poor

12.  Class Activity With your groups or individually, illustrate one of the stanzas from the poem. And then a class discussion will follow.