<P> The pictorial style in which the poem is written owes much to the photographs of Alfred Stieglitz and the precisionist style of Charles Sheeler , an American photographer - painter whom Williams met shortly before composing the poem . The poem represents an early stage in Williams ' development as a poet . It focuses on the objective representation of objects , in line with the Imagist philosophy that was ten years old at the time of the poem 's publication . The poem is written in a brief , haiku - like free - verse form . With regard to the inspiration for the poem , Williams wrote : </P>
<P> The pictorial style in which the poem is written owes much to the photographs of Alfred Stieglitz and the precisionist style of Charles Sheeler , an American photographer - painter whom Williams met shortly before composing the poem . The poem represents an early stage in Williams ' development as a poet . It focuses on the objective representation of objects , in line with the Imagist philosophy that was ten years old at the time of the poem 's publication . The poem is written in a brief , haiku - like free - verse form . With regard to the inspiration for the poem , Williams wrote : </P>
what is the meaning of a red wheelbarrow
what is the meaning of a red wheelbarrow
the objective representation of objects
the objective representation of objects