slides describing people
illustrated pictures with vocabulary
Here you have a poem by William Carlos William an American writer in which a child is being described.
Sympathetic Portrait Of A Child
The murderer's little daughter
who is barely ten years old
jerks her shoulders
right and left
so as to catch a glimpse of me
without turning round.
Her skinny little arms
wrap themselves
this way then that
reversely about her body!
Nervously
she crushes her straw hat
about her eyes
and tilts her head
to deepen the shadow—
smiling excitedly!
As best as she can
she hides herself
in the full sunlight
her cordy legs writhing
beneath the little flowered dress
that leaves them bare
from mid-thigh to ankle—
Why has she chosen me
for the knife
that darts along her smile?
An explanation to the poem
Williams describes a little girl, “who is barely ten years old”, by using great imagery tactics as he depicts her shyness and excitement . The above quote painted a picture for me due to its very realistic image. When children are shy, due to a variety of different reasons, they tend to hide themselves behind objects, like the little girl’s straw hat, as they believe that as long as they cannot see other individuals; those individuals cannot see them as well. It protects them from whatever harm, insecurity, or uncomfortableness they may feel. In this poem, I believe the little girl is being shy and tries to playfully cover herself up, but only to secretly smile as she innocently covers her eyes.
Since Williams calls the little girl’s father a murderer, it leads me to believe that her father was not a man who gave much attention to the girl, nor did he care much. Therefore, her shyness towards another man could have built upon from this lack of affection and attention from her father. The little girl noticed that the speaker was looking at her and displayed some interest in her being. . Although the poem seems lively in nature at a quick glance due to its innocent portrayal of a child, it also shows the effects of a neglected girl who does not know how to react to fondness from another adult.
The last three lines in the poem, “Why has she chosen me/ for the knife/ that darts along her smile?” play a key role in the poem . Some people are told to have a “killer smile”, which I believe is the description Williams is portraying in the last three lines.
