The poem Tract by William Carlos Williams, on the surface, is a criticism of an ostentatious funeral (Geddes 37). However, the poem does have a strong hidden message. Tract could very well be a direct criticism of Dylan Thomas Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night(Geddes 123) and any other poem like it. In his poem, William Carlos Williams criticizes poets like Thomas for using too many stylistic formalities, thereby obscuring their poetrys true literal content. He also scolds them for placing themselves into the poetry when, in his view, there really is no place for them there. Finally, he ends with an offering of recourse for all the poets like Thomas.On the surface, the narrator in Tract is criticizing an overly ornate funeral. His purpose is to establish a new idiom in which cultural inhibitions are discarded. This purpose can also be applied to the poems hidden meaning; a criticism of Dylan Thomas work. When the narrator refers to his townspeople, what Williams might be implying is my fellow poets. He is addressing a small community; the poets of the world, and in this case, Dylan Thomas. In Dylan Thomas Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, there is a very distinctive structure of repeated lines and rhythms called a villanelle (Shaeffer). William Carlos Williams poem strives to do away with such convention. His design for a hearse is really a design for a poem, which should be not black- nor white and not polished[but] weathered like a farm wagon- with gilt wheels. With this, Williams might be saying that there should be no specific design; we should not have villanelles. This corresponds with his philosophy to reject poetic formalism (Geddes 34). It could also be a comment on using the common elements to create poetry. This would follow Williams philosophy that the subject matter of poetry should be centered on the everyday circumstances of life (poets.org). According to Williams, a villanelle is a form of gilt th...
