We Are All Searching For Something

I agree with Carl Rapp's interpretation of "The Descent" and offer other evidences in his poem that support his reading.
Williams writes "No defeat is made up entirely of defeat-- since/ the world it opens is always a place/formerly/unsuspected..." The defeat the writer speaks of is the outside world's defeat of his search for happiness and meaning in his own existence. But he continues that it is not entirely a defeat meaning it is not a realization that leaves him with nothing left to live for, but leads him to different methods of finding his satisfaction, which is looking inside oneself. "The world it opens" (his inner self) is a place he didn't expect to find peace and satisfaction but somehow does. It is obvious through the way many of us live that we are searching for affirmation and satisfaction in life from the world and doubtlessly Williams did as well. It is no surprise that the new world opened by turning inside one self is unexpected because almost none of us look inside.
Later in "The Decent" Williams leaves evidence which suggests this looking inward for satisfaction is truly where happiness lies. "The descent/made up of despairs/and without accomplishment/realizes a new awakening:/which is reversal/ of despair." The descent is the dismal understanding that the world is cruel and unforgiving. Willams writes that the descent is made up of despairs like the physical ailments he suffered and the loss of his mother Rapp noted in his essay on "The Descent". However, for Williams, this dismal realization leads to a "new awakening" which is the discovery of satisfaction by looking inward on himself. This new found understanding is the reversal of despair as Willaims learns he does not need to rely on the world that has proven itself to be unbearable for satisfaction. Instead he needs to look inside himself to be content; a realization which cannot be reversed. It is "indestructible".
Everyone is looking for the meaning and purpose of existence, and also a satisfaction or fulfillment of purpose. Literature and philosophy through the centuries proves that. At the realization that the world is empty and cannot satisfy, many turn to religion, others turn to existentialist philosophy, and whatever else out there promises fulfillment and joy. "The Descent" is the story of William's "awakening" and the means by which he finds fulfillment in his life.