---
title: "'These' from Complete Collected Poems (1938) — William Carlos Williams Quote #17 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "'These' from Complete Collected Poems (1938) — a quote by William Carlos Williams."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # 'These' from Complete Collected Poems (1938)

[William Carlos Williams](https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams)\#17

[Poetry](https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams/poetry/)[Details](https://quotesby.net/topics/details/)[Life](https://quotesby.net/topics/life/)[Observation](https://quotesby.net/topics/observation/)

[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9C%27These%27%20from%20Complete%20Collected%20Poems%20%281938%29%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20William%20Carlos%20Williams%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FWilliam-Carlos-Williams%2F17%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9C%27These%27%20from%20Complete%20Collected%20Poems%20%281938%29%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20William%20Carlos%20Williams&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FWilliam-Carlos-Williams%2F17%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FWilliam-Carlos-Williams%2F17%2F)

## About this quote

What does it mean?The title 'These' suggests a list or collection of specific items or experiences.In plain termsIt refers to a group of things or moments.What can you take from it?Listing specific details can ground a poem in reality.

### Where it applies

- cataloging experiences
- listing objects
- documenting life

### Putting it to work

- write a list poem
- focus on details
- catalog daily life

### Questions to consider

- What items define your life?
- How do you observe the world?

### Another view

The title gives no clue about the content of the list.

## More from William Carlos Williams

1. > There's a lot of bastards out there!

[Permalink to quote \#4](https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams/4/ "Permalink to quote 4")
2. > The art of the poem nowadays is something unstable; but at least the construction of the poem should make sense; you should know where you stand. Many question…

[Permalink to quote \#3](https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams/3/ "Permalink to quote 3")
3. > What is the use of reading the common news of the day, the tragic deaths and abuses of daily living, when for over half a lifetime we have known that they must…

[Permalink to quote \#2](https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams/2/ "Permalink to quote 2")

## Related quotes

1. > These two guys in the front yard-- Are they here to help?

[John Ashbery](https://quotesby.net/John-Ashbery)[John Ashbery quote \#4](https://quotesby.net/John-Ashbery/4/ "Permalink to quote 4")
2. > I saw the delicate bone structure of a hand; I saw the survivors of a battle sending out post cards. . . I saw the oblique shadow of some ferns on the floor of…

[Jorge Luis Borges](https://quotesby.net/Jorge-Luis-Borges)[Jorge Luis Borges quote \#13](https://quotesby.net/Jorge-Luis-Borges/13/ "Permalink to quote 13")
3. > Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it.

[Vincent Van Gogh](https://quotesby.net/Vincent-Van-Gogh)[Vincent Van Gogh quote \#77](https://quotesby.net/Vincent-Van-Gogh/77/ "Permalink to quote 77")

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Quotation",
    "text": "'These' from Complete Collected Poems (1938)",
    "url": "https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams/17/",
    "spokenByCharacter": {
        "@type": "Person",
        "name": "William Carlos Williams"
    }
}
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 1,
            "name": "Home",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 2,
            "name": "Authors",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 3,
            "name": "William Carlos Williams",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 4,
            "name": "Quote #17",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/William-Carlos-Williams/17/"
        }
    ]
}
```