The Tempers

Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 16K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Tempers by William Carlos WilliamsAuthor: Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 4, 2010

Editor's review

The Tempers is an early poetry collection by William Carlos Williams, made freely available through Project Gutenberg as a public-domain work of American literature. Williams later became known for Imagist and modernist poetry, while this early volume shows him in an exploratory phase, not yet fully formed: mostly short poems, relatively restrained language, attention to everyday experience and fleeting impressions, and a rhythm that already hints at his later principle of "words, not ideas." For Chinese readers, its value lies in offering a window onto the origins of modern American poetry; it is brief and suited to quick browsing and repeated savoring. Reading scenarios include case material for poetry-writing classes, supplementary texts for English literary history courses, or short bedtime reading. Because it is an original-language ebook without translation notes or detailed background explanation, readers need a reasonable command of English and a willingness to accept the more indirect, non-conclusive manner of early modern poetry.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in the origins of Anglo-American modernist poetry
Poetry lovers with upper-intermediate English willing to read original short poems
Poets looking for samples of early modernist short-poem technique
English literature students using it as public-domain supplementary reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who need a Chinese translation or detailed annotations to read
General readers who prefer strongly narrative, emotionally direct poetry
Readers hoping for Williams's representative mature work

Reading tips

Read only three to five poems at a time, then pause to recall the concrete objects and scenes in them.
Keep a notebook and note recurring images and word choices to observe early stylistic features.
Read alongside material on Williams's later style to appreciate the evolution of his ideas about language.
Try reading short poems aloud, paying attention to the relationship between line breaks and colloquial rhythm.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this Williams's representative work?

It is not his best-known mature work but an early collection. It is better for understanding the formation of his style than for assessing his highest achievement.

Can I understand it without annotations?

Most short poems are simple in language and broadly understandable with upper-intermediate English. For cultural background or unusual words, consult a dictionary or reference works on American literary history.

Is it suitable for poetry translation practice?

Yes. The poems are short with concentrated imagery, making them easy to translate one by one. But preserve the original line breaks and colloquial tone; do not over-refine the language.

What if I can't get through it?

Start with the shortest poems, or focus only on the concrete things and scenes, without pursuing the deep meaning of every line. Early modern poetry allows readers to retain a sense of ambiguity.

Comments

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About the author

Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963 Author

William Carlos Williams (Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963) is a poet of major importance in the history of modern American poetry. Four of his works are held in this collection: A Book of Poems, Al Que Quiere!, Kora in Hell: Improvisations, Sour Grapes: A Book of Poems, and The Tempers. These works show that he often drew on everyday language and immediate experience, writing in free verse with vivid imagery and exploring the boundary between poetry and prose in improvisatory, essayistic passages. Kora in Hell: Improvisations is notably experimental, with fragmented and跳跃-like expression, while the poetry collections reveal a preference for concise, colloquial rhythms. Public information is limited, making it difficult to detail his life here, but his poetic practice has had a lasting influence on later American poetry.