Listen to a Reading: “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow”

William Carlos Williams. "The Red Wheelbarrow," as read by the author. Copyright © 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corp. From The Collected Poems, Volume 1: 1909–1939. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. The recording is part of the Library of Congress Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. [recording was made on May 5, 1945, at the Recording Laboratory, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens.

Suggestions for Responsive Reading

After listening to The Red Wheelbarrow, consider the question(s) below. Then “submit” your response.

  1. To read along or not to read along. Either way is fine but for different reasons. If you read the text for the first time as you listen, you’ll likely find it more accessible and fluid, particularly if the syntax and style is unfamiliar to you or is set in a remote historical period. On the other hand, a first reading together with a recording might also short-circuit your own initial response to the work and interpretation of it. If this is a second or third reading as you listen, you’ll hear more clearly the interpretive possibilities the reader has chosen to emphasize, thereby making you more aware of the work’s (and the reader’s) subtleties. Which option did you choose? How do you think it impacted your understanding of the text? Do you wish you had selected the other option?

    Question

    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
  2. Consider how well the reader’s voice and overall style of delivery is matched to the literary work. Describe the appropriateness of any regional accents, inflection, pronunciation, volume, rhythm, and pacing of the reading in order to explain how the lines are spoken serve to reinforce what is said. The degree of appropriateness becomes readily apparent if you imagine, for example, how you would describe the difference between a rendition of Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly Buzz—when I Died” by Meryl Streep compared with, say, Sylvester Stallone (or Streep performing an audiobook version of First Blood). How well do you think this reader’s voice and style match up with this work? Why do you think so?

    Question

    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
  3. Determining the tone of a text is often the most challenging and important interpretive skill we develop as readers. Listening to a work read aloud, however, can be enormously helpful in establishing tone when we hear the nuances made apparent by an effective reader orally interpreting the text. Tone can convey any of the full range of human emotions. What do you think the reader’s tone contributes in this audio recording? How does it impact the way you understand the text?

    Question

    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
  4. If the oral reading isn’t what you expected, if it disappoints or surprises you, try to explain as specifically as possible why the performance differs from your expectations. Use the text to validate your own response, and indicate particular elements of the recording to support your assessment of the recording.

    Question

    pUmCHveXUmpwAMtriUXdAQ9Z/3V9zdiblPdv9euIOgFMmRdjiYST9A7lHw6fftOgFoXkdnUxDclCklGb3+nAgrK39TXe0zkKrvwZIlKYhB9oG/JwK7lyRZ57YQeFF+GUm6jFPRXXrQir1fmOpCc3Vwki3i3u82jIYhh7jAxuok3T8nXQ1iFBYXrS7ZujzA3UyIX59sk4I77zWyOPC4IgmRkij4Thj9RePu+1UxJvVagjHxArStaIyM2QWYgh59pYf0ZQl8W6MIB9BUiO0P7u0dTOtP0syYnxIwV5nmB+WSmQ1jLI1DIYaZ1cxgnhs9Jo28k1FHi8egzFqdMzBkTMcBrWoCnNp3nRPpDdB3Dxk9xkWhHQPYno0dhVUB4sL2hY3sQlcpFOyYq7m+bLN+UR+YS3hxj3r7gs34TRK6fZeH1eWW6L7j4adUyFH+jPsetHiiUB3ufB4wE=