Spring Storm

“Spring Storm” is a stichic poem, which means it is made of a series of lines of the same approximate lengths. The poem is 17 lines and consists of a single stanza. As a poet who championed literary Modernism and the concept of a simple, direct American verse, Williams’s poetry is written almost exclusively in Free Verse. Poems written in Free Verse eschew the strict rhyme schemes, metrical rhythms, and specific structural patterns of classical poetry. “Spring Storm” focuses more on the image and the capturing of a specific moment in time than it does on any specific structural or metrical systems. Williams created something called the “variable foot,” which is considered a post-metrical approach to prosody. “Variable foot,” simply put, involves the step-down-line and considers each line equal to one single unit of breath. Essentially, each line of “Spring Storm” should be read in a single breath, with a slight pause after each line. This type of system is loose and works well within an otherwise free verse poem. Williams’s “variable foot” is meant to recreate the sense and cadence of American English.