In the early 1900s, a woman's purity was considered her most important aspect. So much so that it affected society's perception of his personality and its subsequent treatment of him. It was often a deciding factor in marriage arrangements. In fact, if a woman had sex before she married and gained a reputation for that kind of activity, it was very likely that she would never marry at all. This societal construct does not matter to William Carlos Williams. In a surprisingly progressive move for his time, Williams declared his affinity for a traditionally impure woman in his poem "Queen-Anne's Lace." Using symbolic colors, comparisons to flowers, changes in weather, and crude diction, Williams characterizes the harsh and wild character of his mistress. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The most obvious literary device Williams uses to describe the liberated nature of his mistress 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 In the poem, Williams illustrates her body as being "not as white as anemone petals" (1-2) and her "outdated whiteness" (20). Since the general meaning concerns his impurity, it makes sense that the poet so often describes his symbolic lack of white appearance. Again, this traditional impurity doesn't matter to Williams. This is reinforced when he says "Here is not a question of whiteness" (7), meaning that he does not question her purity, because it does not matter. Williams also uses the symbolic meaning of purple to represent his love for her. Purple is often used to symbolize royalty or rank. So, even though she is marked by “a little purple spot” (13), he sees her as royal or as something he admires about her. The motif of royalty and Willaims' high feelings towards this woman are even clearly illustrated in the name of the flower to which he compares her. He loves her not only despite her impurity, but because of her. Williams carefully compares and contrasts his lover with certain flowers in order to depict his impurity. As readers can see from the title of the poem, the poet compares the woman to a flower of the same name. If women are often compared to flowers in poetry, he chose to compare his lover to Queen Anne's Lace for a very specific reason. This flower may be “one of many plants in the Apieceae family; wild carrot; cow parsley” (OED). The fact that it can be one of several plants means that it is a common weed. The idea that Queen Anne's lace is a weed is demonstrated when Williams writes how it takes over “the field by force; the grass / does not rise above it” (5-6). Although it may seem strange for a poet to compare his mistress to a weed, Williams does it on purpose. Because of this woman's impurity, she is treated like a weed by the rest of society. She is unwanted and cast aside. In addition, the Queen Anne is most often white with a dark galloping marking. It is symbolic for her to be marked by adultery. Williams reinforces this symbolism when he says, “Wherever / his hand lay there was / a little purple spot” (11-13). Furthermore, he compares it to the anemone flower. The anemone is “a genus of plants with beautiful flowers” ​​(OED). However, she has nothing to.