TITLE, TOPIC & THEME

“In reading a poem, some people assume that its words can be skipped over rapidly, and they try to leap at once to the poem’s general theme. It is as if they fear being thought clods unless they can find huge ideas in the poem (whether or not there are any). Such readers often ignore the literal meanings of words: the ordinary, matter-of-fact sense to be found in a dictionary… Consider the following and see what you make of it,” (Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, Kennedy &Gioia, 499-500).

Read the following poem, then answer the questions below:

This Is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold


William Carlos Williams
(1883-1963)

1. What is the topic of the poem (what is the poem about)?

2. Consider the meaning of the title. Why has the author chosen this title? How does the title connect with the theme?

3. What is the theme of the poem? What is the poet teaching us about the topic? (Theme = “big idea,” “life lesson,” “poet’s message”)