William Carlos Williams

             William Carlos Williams was born on September 17, 1883, in Rutherford, New Jersey. He lived in this town for almost his entire life, except for school and visits to Europe with his family. William got his first and last name from his father and his middle name from his uncle on his mother's side (Williams 402).
             William's father, William George Williams, was an English Episcopalian (Longman 1). William's father never became an American because using his British papers made trips he frequently made to South America easier. He did not go to church much but instead went to seances with his wife (Williams 15). When he was near death, he appeared in a dream of William's. In this dream William saw who he thought was his father dying. When he realized that his father was not dead, his father spoke to him and said, " You know all that poetry you're writing? Well, it's no good" (Williams 15).
             William's mother, Raquel Helène Rose Hoheb, was mentally unstable and had psychotic episodes during times of emotional stress. Most of these episodes happened at home, but she had an episode at Sunday school while she was playing the piano. William was extremely embarrassed by it. During these episodes she would point to someone to hold her hand. When the wrong person comforted her she would shake the person violently (Williams 17). In spite of her mental instability Williams' still loved his mother and wrote one of his later poems about her. (Holland 127)
             William was a playful child and played with friends and relatives. When William was about ten he was playing with his cousins with a toy cannon. They used gunpowder to shoot the canon. During one fire the powder did not seem to light correctly. William looked inside to see what went wrong. Suddenly the powder lit and he was blasted powder into William's face and confined to bed for several days. He often got into mischief with his neighborhood friends.
             William went...

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William Carlos Williams . (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 06:35, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/67363.html