Poem Analysis: The Dance By William Carlos Williams

“The Dance”

The poem “The Dance” by William Carlos Williams is a very nice poem and I have a great time reading it. William describes with powerful words a portrait named the Kermess. The poem tells about a festival that was going; the great music that was played and the great dancers that were dancing.

The author tells us that the setting of the portrait he was describing was a festival first by giving the name of the portrait “The Kermess” ( line.1) the definition of The Kermess is a festival. Also, at a festival there are different types of activities going on such as dance, coronation, exposition of artwork, and etc. Although, I have enjoyed my time reading this poem, I mostly enjoyed reading the first three lines because the primarily focus of the things that usually happen at a festival. Reading this poem just remind me of homecoming weeks when I was in high school. During homecoming week, there is always a coronation that a lot of people assist which is always full of children,

parents, and some companies that make free donation of their products.
Next, William also tells us about the great music that was played at the festival. There could never be a great festival without music because music is always the back bone of most type of event. . When someone feels bored at a party, the music might be the reason why he or she will decide to stay around. Although, the author did not specify the kind of music that were played at The Kermess, it is obvious that the music was good. Also, people were dancing at the festival and were happy. So, a good sound of music was necessary played that kept the festival alive.
Lastly, the author intentionally describes to us the way people were dancing at this festival.

He said “The dancers go around, they go around and” (line.2). This phrase is a descriptive one that explain to us how people were dancing. Furthermore, the author took most lines on his poem to describe the specific way people were dancing, because he was mostly passionate about the dancers and the way they were shaking their bodies and hips. Also, at some festival, people perform traditional dances that can be new to us and sometimes impossible for us to dance. Although, this poem reminds me of my culture dance moves, it also reminds me the fact that I still cannot perform some of my culture’s dance moves.

In short, the poem “The dance” by William describes to us, the festival, the music, and the dances on the portrait of Brueghel. Moreover, this poem made me realized that a festival is not only a happiness moment, but can also be an inspirational moments for some

writers.