Refer to explorations in literature for a complete version of this poem. in "to a poor old woman," william carlos williams repeats the phrase "they taste good to her" four times. how does this use of repetition affect the poem? the repetition of such a basic phrase indicates that the woman is only capable of the most basic level of understanding. the repetition of the phrase forces readers to consider the possibility that the plums actually don't taste good. the repetition of such a simple phrase stresses the simple pleasure that eating the plums gives the woman. the repetition of the phrase suggests to readers that the speaker is also eating plums in the poem.