Explicating the Insight of William Carlos Williams

There are many contrasting differences in the picture “The corn Harvest” than that of the poem “The corn Harvest” written by William Carlos Williams. In the picture there are many things to focus on. One being the man resting by the tree looking deprived of hydration and behind him the people resting on the tree and enjoying a mid day snack. That seems to be the main focus of the painting because its the biggest thing in the picture which makes it the focal point for the observer. Bruegel has a way of doing this with a lot of his paintings.

When looking at the painting there are many things that the eye picks up. For instance the first thing that most see is the man’s labored body lying lifelessly against the tree and the people behind him relaxing enjoying a mid day snack and resting. William Carlos Williams saw this to and used it as the main focal point of his poem. “Summer!/ the painting is organized // about a young / reaper enjoying his / noonday rest // completely / relaxed / from his morning labors / sprawled // in fact sleeping / unbuttoned / on his back /”. (Stanza’s 1-4) This excerpt starts out by telling us that at that point in time the painting was painted during the summer time which gives us more of an inside look as to why the people look so labored and exhausted. The next lines tells us how the painting is organized and a little more about the man sitting by the tree. “The painting is organized/ about a young // reaper enjoying his / noonday rest / .” (Stanza 2 lines 2-3) In this passages it states “ The painting is organized” this is telling the observer how to read this picture. Then it states “ About a young” pertaining to the young boy underneath the tree sleeping lifelessly. “Reaper enjoying his / noonday rest.” (stanza 2 lines 1-2). Here the observer is told that the young boy underneath the tree is a reaper which is someone that cuts things down with a long object that has a knife at the bottom. So the boys a reaper and he is enjoying a rest. Lastly the poem is telling us the time of day, noontime. Then Williams goes on to tell us a little more about the boy and what his mood is like at this point and time while he is resting. “ Completely / relaxed / from his morning labors” . ( Stanza 3, lines 1-2). Here we find out that the reaper is indeed completely relaxed from his morning labors which were cutting down corn stalks. “ Sprawled / in fact sleeping / unbuttoned /on his back” (Stanza 4, lines 1-3). Now Williams is telling us that the young reaper is sprawled on the ground against the tree sleeping with his shirt unbuttoned lying on his back. So what Williams is telling the observer of the portrait or the reader of the poem is stanza’s 1-4 is that the place and time is summer and that the painting is organized so as to show the young boy as the main focal point. The boy is a reaper and he is enjoying a noon time rest after laboring all morning sprawled with his shirt unbuttoned to catch a cool breeze on the ground underneath a tree.

Now William Carlos Williams goes on to tell us about the people sitting around the tree and what relation they have in the painting to the young reaper. “ The women / having brought him his lunch/ perhaps / a spot of wine / they gather gossiping / underneath a tree / whose shade / carelessly / he does not share / the resting / center of / their work day world.” (Stanzas 5 -8). Williams starts out by saying the women which shifts our eyes from the young reaper to the women sitting behind him. “ Having brought him his lunch / perhaps / a spot of wine.” (stanza 5 lines 1-3, stanza 6 line 1). So now the observer knows that there are women sitting behind the young reaper and they are there because they brought him his lunch and maybe even a little bit of wine. “They gather gossiping / underneath a tree.” ( stanza…) William is telling us here that the women are gathered underneath the tree talking to one another. “Whose shade / carelessly / he does not share / the resting / center of / their work day world.” (stanza .…) This passage is telling the observer that they the young reaper boy is resting in the shade not caring that he is taking all the shade away from the women who brought lunch for him and lastly we find out that the tree is the center of their work day so that gives the observer a sense once of understanding of why the boy, tree, and the women are the main focal point of this picture. It is indeed because the tree is the center of these workers work day making them the center focal point of the painting and this poem by Williams Carlos Williams.