After reading “Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams”, it seems that Kenneth Koch is doing poetry for the fun of it. His poem is a parody of “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams. Koch catches the special manner and flavor of the original. He also extends the original beyond its limits from one topic to four topics.

The poem consists of four stanzas of three lines each. It is very easy to follow and each stanza deals with something different. The poem has no rhyming scheme so it kind of reads like a real short story. It is not like most poems. While most poems are deep in meaning or sad, “Variations on a theme…” is all about fun. It’s funny how Koch’s poem comes off. Even t

In the second stanza, Koch talks about laughing at the hollyhocks and spraying the hollyhocks with lye. A hollyhock is a tall Chinese herb and lye is a strong solution for making soap. That would probably kill the herbs. He ends the stanza by saying he does not know what he is doing. The second stanza stays in context with Williams’ poem but it is a little bit crazier and more far-fetched.

hough Koch and Williams were born way apart of each other it seems Koch is writing this poem out of retaliation for Williams eating his plum. It’s like they are college roommates or something.

In the third stanza, Koch gives away the saved money to a shabby fellow. The shabby guy is homeless. It seems everything Koch does is out of retaliation. He uses an arrogant yet subtle approach to describe everythin

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