Poem - by William Carlos Williams

Page 419
"As the cat
climbed over
the top of

the jamcloset
first the right
forefoot

carefully
then the hind
stepped down

into the pit of
the empty
flowerpot"

Reflection:
When first reading this poem, my initial thought was to skip over it and find a new one. Then, I read it again, and again, and each time I became more and more intrigued. I think that this poem is an extended metaphor for many peoples' cautious approach to life. The cat in this poem is carefully stepping over the top of a closet, in which he cannot see the other side. Although he was cautious and careful, he still stepped into a "pit" of the flowerpot. The words "empty" and "pit" provide a sense of dark depth in which it will be hard to get out of. This tells of cautious life, I believe, because no matter how careful people are, there are always times that they cannot see what they are stepping into. The simple structure of the poem, short words and short lines, adds to its simplicity to the metaphor.

This poem tells people that perhaps they shouldn't be so cautious about life, because they never know what is over the next jamcloset. So, what's the use in planning out your every step and every move, if you don't know what the outcome will be?

Devices:
This entire poem is a great example of imagery. Description such as "first the right forefoot" and "carefully, then the hind stepping down" help the reader to see the cautious nature of the actions in the poem. Cautiousness is what this poem is surrounded around. This carefulness continues as the cat steps into the "pit." This image shows how often times, people are so worried about how carefully they will live, and how each muscle movement will move, that they don't always see what they are moving into. The image of a cat in a flowerpot provides a sense of confinement, the type of confinement that most creatures do not like to trap themselves in. This further shows how blind actions can really be.

In addition, the lack of punctuation in the poem adds to its imagery. No commas, hyphens, or periods are used, not even at the end. This leaves the reader without time to pause, providing a rhythmic flowing feel to the poem. Thus, the cat is presented as continuing to slowly move throughout the poem. The short words and stanzas also provide a sense of rhythm, as they flow in a similar way throughout the poem. This mental flow of words helps the reader to see the motions of the cat, and how there is no room for a change in speed, intent, or emphasis on any one action, as sentence variation often provides. Each movement is equally done.

Symbolism is also used in this poem. As a whole, the cat symbolizes people. His movements symbolize choices. Just as the cat carefully moves, people carefully chose what they will do next. The top of the jamcloset represents the future. The cat cannot see over the top of the closer, just as people cannot see what is coming next. That is why caution is used-to approach the unknown. The pit of the empty flowerpot shows that no matter how careful one may be in his or her choices, there could always be something unknown in the future. Without this symbolism, the extended metaphor would not be achievable or easily understandable.