The Mind HesitantRidwan Abdullahi ∙ Ivy Cyr ∙ Andrew Villanueva ∙ Alexis Villareal

Thesis

William Carlos Williams compares and contrasts the steady flow of a river with the indecision of thought which symbolizes apprehension.

(fear & doubt)

Sense: Meaning & Language

• Mood: Puzzled, muddled, confused • Motif: Variety of thought • Theme: The river (having many path

ways like the mind itself)• Tone: Distracted and/or uncertain • Repetition: River & mind• Point of View: Third person

Senses: Imagery & Symbols

Its banks snow the tide falling a darkrim lies betweenthe water and the

shore

Sometimes the riverbecomes a river in the mindor of the mindor in and of the mind

IMAGERY/SYMBOLSEVIDENCE OF HESITATION

Stanza #2The mind is beginning to

allude to doubt

Stanza #1The river is a metaphor to compare the

fluidity of rivers to the mind

Senses: Imagery & Symbols

will find—a compleximage: somethingof white browsbound by a ribbon

And the mind hesitant regarding the streamsensesa likeness which it

IMAGERY/SYMBOLSEVIDENCE OF HESITATIONINDEPENDENT WORD

Stanza #4Image of the river is complex just as the

mind is complexWhite brows is

referencing the peak of something; the pinnacle

of confusion

Stanza #3The mind that is

hesitant knows that it is confused

Senses: Imagery & Symbols

flowing waters, beforethe tide willchangeand rise again, maybe

of sooty thought beyond, yes well beyondthe mobile featuresof swiftly

IMAGERY/SYMBOLSEVIDENCE OF HESITATIONINDEPENDENT WORD

Stanza #6 Thought process is flowing in different

directions never knowing the path

ahead

Stanza #5

Thoughts are very dark, not very clear

Shows extreme

doubt and uncertainty

Style: Poetry Techniques• Incremental repetition

Sometimes the riverbecomes a river in the mindor of the mindor in and of the mind

• MetaphoricalThe river symbolizes the thought process;Continuous, polarized, unpredictable

Structure: Form, Organization, & Pattern

• Six stanzas• Four lines per stanza• Enjambment• Evidence of hesitation (marked by

colon, comma, & dash) draws attention to doubt and open-endedness

• Senses & change are on their own line• No periods

Sound: Musicality & Auditory Techniques

• Repetition–Mind (invokes connection between water

and consciousness)• Assonance– Letter I, O, & A

Relation to Other Poems • Seafarer– Both about water– Both kind of hesitant (uses or)– Seems unsure (line 9 “with fears that

are not fears”)

Relation to History William Carlos Williams was alive

during World War I. Many Americans at this time were confused to whether they should join the war, so America isolated themselves from the war but became involved later.

The Mind Hesitant could have symbolized how Williams felt about the war.

DiscussionWhat are some cases where someone/something causes us to rethink a decision?How does the behavior of others affect that of our own?

ConclusionThe Mind Hesitant is a poem about not knowing how to view the world due to skepticism & fear and not knowing what to expect. The river is very fluid and has many pathways to follow, just as the mind has many different thought processes and feelings. William Carlos Williams must have reached a point in his life where he was very confused, and in the end of that confusion, he must have never reached a conclusion.