In the early 1900s, a woman's purity was seen as her most important aspect. So much so that it influenced society's perception of his personality and subsequent treatment of him. It was often a deciding factor in marriage agreements. In fact, if a woman had had sex before getting married and gained a reputation for such activity, it was very likely that she would never get married. This social construct does not matter to William Carlos Williams. In a surprisingly progressive action for his time, Williams declares his affinity with a traditionally impure woman in his poem "Queen-Anne's Lace." Using symbolic colors, comparisons to flowers, tense and coarse changes of diction, Williams characterizes the rough and wild nature of his lover. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The most obvious literary device Williams uses to describe the liberated nature of his lover is color symbolism. The one he most often refers to is white. This color is well known for symbolizing purity and innocence. In the poem, Williams illustrates her body as "not so white as the petals of an anemone" (1-2) and her "whiteness surpassed" (20). Since the overall meaning is about his uncleanness, it is logical why the poet so often describes his symbolic lack of whiteness. Again, this traditional impurity does not matter to Williams. This is reinforced when he says “It's not about whiteness here” (7), meaning he doesn't question his purity, because it's irrelevant. Williams also uses the symbolic meaning of purple to represent his love for her. Purple is often used to symbolize royalty or rank. Therefore, even though she is marked by "a little purple spot" (13), he considers her regal or something he admires about her. The reason for Willaims's royalty and elevated feelings towards this woman is also clearly illustrated in the name of the flower to which he compares her. He loves her not only despite her impurity, but precisely because of it. Williams carefully compares and contrasts his lover with certain flowers to represent her impurity. As readers can see from the title of the poem, the poet compares the woman to a flower of the same name. Although women are often compared to flowers in the poem, he chose to compare his lover to Queen Anne's lace for a specific reason. This flower can be “any of several plants in the Apieceae family; wild carrot; cow parsley” (OED). The fact that it can be one of many plants means that it is a common and humble weed. The idea that Queen-Anne's Lace is a weed is demonstrated when Williams writes how it takes “the field by force; the grass / does not grow on it” (5-6). While it may seem strange for a poet to compare his lover to a weed, Williams does so on purpose. Because of her impurity, this woman is treated like a weed by the rest of society. She is unwanted and cast aside. Additionally, the Queen Anne's Horse is most often white with a dark gallop marking. This is symbolic because she was scarred by adultery. Williams reinforces this symbolism when he says, “Wherever / his hand has been, this is / a little purple spot” (11-13). Furthermore, he contrasts it with the anemone flower. Anemonium is “a genus of beautiful flowering plants” (OED). Yet it does not resemble this traditionally beautiful and delicate flower. She is “not so white… / nor so smooth, nor / so remote” (1-3). Of course this doesn't matter because, at least for Williams, she doesn't have to be to be loved. Although subtle, Williams uses.