William Carlos Williams and the Meaning of Measure

William Carlos Williams not only wrote poems that experimented with alternative modes of verse measurement but also attempted to formulate a theory of modern poetic form. This book by Stephen Cushman cogently discusses both Williams's poems and his complex theories about "measure." Williams argued that his verse was organized in units he could time and count, much like music. But in fact, according to Cushman, his free, or nonmetrical, verse relies heavily on visual techniques such as enjambment and the typographic arrangement of lines and stanzas. By close analysis of particular poems, Cushman explores how these techniques figure in Williams's work. "Measure" was not merely a technical term for Williams, however, it eventually became the controlling metaphor behind his aesthetic ideology. In Williams's mind, "measure" became a metaphor for mimesis, Aristotle's concept of poetic imitation; "measure" also had expressive significance, function throughout his poetry as a metaphor for control and order in human thought and behavior; and "measure" finally was the aesthetic metaphor by means of which he defined himself in relation to American poetic tradition. "A first-rate piece of critical writing. It explores and illuminated as area of Williams's work that is crucial to grasp and yet has not thus far been adequately treated. This is one of the most important studies of Williams that I have read over the past decade."--- Louis Martz, Yale University