Love Poem With Toast

"Howl" by Allen Ginsberg (1956)

This iconic poem from the Beat Generation’s most notable poet makes heavy use of anaphora to build a strong, musical rhythm that is similar to the way Williams uses anaphora in “Love Poem with Toast.” “Howl” also queries similar weighty issues, including love, death, transcendence, and outside forces acting upon humanity. While Williams’s speaker is content to “pretend,” Ginsberg’s speaker in “Howl” shouts and rails against things outside their control.

"In a Station at the Metro" by Ezra Pound (1913)

This is one of the most famous poems by the controversial, so-called “father of Modernism.” Pound’s poem uses Modernist tenets, such as using no superfluous words, developing an “absolute” or original rhythm that’s not dictated by adherence to poetic meter, and the use of images to convey ideas and feelings, tenets that also appear in some shape or form in “Love Poem with Toast.”

"Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins (1988)

A one-time student of Williams, Collins follows in Williams’s tradition of writing accessibly and humorously about everyday subjects and routine events. In this poem, Collins employs colorful, comical examples to comment on a poetry class and his students’ attempt to force meaning from a poem instead of simply enjoying the process.