Zulema Cuevas

Instr. Fischer

Writing 37

29 April 2015

This is Just to Smile

In the poem,“This is Just to Say”,by Williams Carlos Williams,  the speaker seems to be writing a confession to the owner of the plums he ate. The speaker adheres to the confession as a genre by admitting to his wrongdoings and asking for forgiveness.The speaker takes the conventions of a confession and mocks the traditional sincerity of the genre.  However, the use of a trivial matter in the context of a confession diverges from the genre. The speaker’s playful tone and ironic nature stray away from a typical remorseful confession. A confession is typically used at a church or court room in order to admit to one’s moral or legal wrong. The rhetor strays away from the conventions of a confession in order to create a playful apology that effectively allows for him to be forgiven by a familiar audience.

The title of the poem gives insight to the nonchalance of the text in order to digress from the conventions of a confession. The title “This is Just to Say” is simple and allows for the reader to be conscience that the poem will too, be simple. The title’s simplicity insinuates a lack of effort almost as if written out of convenience.The use of the word “Just” in the title offers casualty to the reader because of its informality. The word “Just” in this context means simply.  Simplicity and feasibility are not traits expected from a confession. The audience is introduced to this poem not prepared for a serious genre, like a confession.

Similarly, The use of a practical event manipulates the confession as a genre that the speaker is abiding to within the first stanza. The speaker immediately begins the poem with a confession “I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox” (Williams).  In this case, the speaker is conforming to the definition of a confession by revealing his wrongdoings. However, the content in itself is ironic because a confession is typically admitting guilt to a moral or legal crime. Eating a plum from a  shared refrigerator is nothing compared to killing a man. The audience expects for a confession to be about an action that will burden one’s soul. Eating a plum is a negligible action that he is taking out of proportion by making it a confession. The first stanza begins to reveal an intimacy with the specific audience through the presence of the “ice box”. The speaker begins by mentioning the plums were inside an “icebox”. The reader can assume that the refrigerator was shared because he had access to it. One may reason that he could simply be a house guest. However, unlike a house guest, he was not shy about taking the plums to begin with. He is not a stranger to the specific audience since he felt safe taking the plums.

The second stanza continues to reveal the affinity between the intended audience and the rhetor. The second stanza reveals an intimate relationship by stating “and which you were probably saving for breakfast” (Williams). In this stanza, the speaker is displaying that he is  aware of the intended audience’s daily schedule. He knows the routine of the specific audience because he anticipates she might eat the plums for breakfast. Breakfast is typically a morning meal, he is present for the early schedule which infers that the speaker stays there often to sleep. The use of the word “probably” infers that he was not even sure to begin with, that stealing the plums would affect the “you” he is speaking to. This strays away from a confession because it takes away from the earnestness of a typical confession. Also, In contrast to a typical confession, the audience generally consists of judges, priests, or any other person affiliated with aiding a moral or legal wrong. This confession targets someone that has a personal affiliation with the speaker.

The establishment of an intimate relationship allows for the speaker to effectively apologize through the use of a playful tone. The poem continues with asking for forgiveness “forgive me, they were delicious, so sweet and so cold” (Williams).  The speaker respects the guidelines of a confession as he states, “Forgive me”. The reader at this point is willing to forgive the speaker because he was able to create a literary piece to apologize for a negligible action. Although the speaker apologizes, he is quick to state the pleasure he found in the fruits by using words such as, “sweet” and “delicious”. Not only is the speaker telling the audience why he ate the fruits but taunting him or her through the use of imagery. This imagery reminds the audience of what he or she could have been enjoying. Because the audience is an intimate one, they would not take this phrase in offense. It is amusing for the speaker to incorporate this pleasure into the poem. The imagery and context of the poem and context of the poem allow to create a playful tone. The ending of the poem makes the reader smile at the humor of it all.

The speaker challenges the principles of a confession by creating a playful tone in order to effectively gain an apology. Although this poem is simple, it is still a literary piece he created to apologize for taking the plums. The general audience can speculate that this was written for someone he cared for since he created a poem from a negligible action for them. That being said, it safe to assume that the targeted audience is his wife. The wife as the intended audience plays a role in whether this apology is effective or not. Because she is familiar of his ways, she will be able to understand the jokes and forgive him. After all, this poem is just to smile.

Works Cited

Williams, William C. "This Is Just To Say." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.