The Poetry of Wallace Stevens - 946 Words

Though Wallace Stevens commonly uses a blank-verse writing style in his poetry, staying true to the style’s definition of unrhymed lines with consistent meter, â€Å"Sunday Morning† differs from the poet’s other work as he maintains consistency in stanza structure as well. Here, each of the eight stanzas consists of 15 feet and contain 10 beats per line (classic iambic pentameter). This extremely organized structure seems ironic, as the poem’s theme involves the death of Christianity and organized religion. However, it also lends to Stevens’ message of the importance of life and death, and the immaculate nature and consistency seen in earth’s life cycles. â€Å"Sunday Morning† is an example of Wallace Stevens’ romantic-period writing style, as he articulates the human connection to nature and the existence of spirituality within ones physical surroundings. The uncompromising structure of the poem provides a meditative rhythm (showing Stevens connection to Milton and the romanic era) as the speaker reflects on the relationship between oneself and the natural environment. Simultaneously, Stevens’ use of blank-verse and inclusion of both enjambments and end-stopped lines allows for artistic exploration, mirroring a human thought pattern and the speaker’s mental exploration of personal beliefs. The syntax resembles a racing mind, as the sentence structure is the only aspect of the poem that does not follow a strict pattern. This is evident as the speaker ponders a Pagan perspective,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem Of Modern Poetry By Wallace Stevens Essay1186 Words   |  5 PagesTaking a broad view at one of Wallace Stevens’s poems shows clues that Stevens believes in Heraclitus’s theory. One poem in particular, â€Å"Of Modern Poetry,† is a good example of Wallace Stevens work because it is abo ut the subject matter of poetry (Gallagher https://pfeiffer.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com. pfeiffer.idm.oclc.org/docview/216773018?accountid=13172). In the poem it is obvious that neither Wallace Stevens or his poems will tell you what they are about until theyRead More Imagination in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens Essay example3705 Words   |  15 Pages† Who are these seemingly real but only partially embodied figures, which Wallace Stevens mentions almost in passing at line three in his poem, â€Å"Men Made Out of Words.† As readers, how are we to understand this short ambivalent phrase, which while confounding us appears to answer the question raised in the previous two lines: â€Å"What should we be without the sexual myth, / The human revery or the poem of death† (1-2). Stevens does not elaborate on the image of the moon-mashed castratos he has just presentedRead MoreEssay on An Annotation of Wallace Stevens Of Modern Poetry2348 Words   |  10 PagesAn Annotation of Wallace Stevens Of Modern Poetry In Of Modern Poetry, Stevens describes the purpose of modern poetry given what the audience knows and values. Modern poetry must be different from traditional poetry, because people of his time perceive themselves and their world differently than the people of earlier times. Stevens suggests that war, like other changes, have affected what people believe. Poetry must reflect to its audience what they want to hear. It must show them that theRead MoreA Force of Nature: Imagination in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens and John Ashbery1602 Words   |  7 Pagesfeeling what seems to him to be poetry at that time† (The necessary vii). What Stevens is suggesting here is that a poet must find a particular voice among other voices –other poets– and that his voice will be significant only if it intends to be a contribution to the theory of poetry, in the sense that they â€Å"are disclosures of poetry, not disclosures of definitions of poetry† (Ibid). Precisely, the poe try of Wallace Stevens and John Ashbery are disclosures of poetry regarding imagination, for theyRead More Modernist Poets E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, and T.S. Eliot Change the Face of American Poetry1710 Words   |  7 PagesModernist Poets E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, and T.S. Eliot Change the Face of American Poetry Modernist poets such as E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, and T.S. Eliot changed the face of American poetry by destroying the notion that American culture is far inferior to European culture. These and other American poets accomplished the feat of defining an American poetic style in the Modern Era by means of a truly American idea. That idea is the melting pot. Just as American culture exists asRead MoreThe Plain Sense Of Things By Wallace Stevens1017 Words   |  5 PagesSense of Things† Written by the poet Wallace Stevens, â€Å"The Plain Sense of Things† creates an atmosphere of imagination, reality and symbolism of natural progression. Stated by POETRY FOUNDATION, Wallace Stevens is one of America’s most respected poets (Wallace Stevens, 2017). Wallace Stevens work is known for its imagination and relates to both English Romantics and French symbolists and is considered one of the major American poets of the century (Stevens, Wallace 2014). In â€Å"The Plain Sense of Things†Read MoreA Comparison and Contrast Between the Two Poems, Poetry and Modern Poetry890 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"I, too, dislike it: There are things that are important beyond all this fiddle.† Poetry has been around for a long time. As the years go by poetry adapts to the time period. However, the authors have different views. Majority of them will read and enjoy all types of poem, but they have their own opinions. The new, has to be truly unique to the author a nd to the time period. Shakespeare still had plays that we study, but it is hard to comprehend the message behind the words. Worlds change and theRead MoreEzra Pound And Modernist Poetry780 Words   |  4 Pagespoems share a similar theme: Ezra Pound’s â€Å"A Few Don’ts,† Wallace Stevens’ â€Å"Of Modern Poetry,† Archibald Macleish’s â€Å"Ars Poetica,† and Marianne Moore’s â€Å"Poetry.† Each of these authors felt they had discovered superlative methods to write the most powerful poetry. However, the details and methods which each author used varied from one another. Born in 1885, Ezra pound is known as one of Modernist poetry’s biggest contributors. His poetry of the early 20th century was unconventional and controversialRead MoreMy Reflection On My Job1500 Words   |  6 Pagesmy way out of the poetry section, having just picked up two books on Frost, I spotted The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens and I immediately knew there was no question that Wallace was coming home with me. We covered The Emperor of Ice Cream in my Engl-ish class which I liked but it wasn t like I madly in love with it or anything. The only other poem by Stevens that I d seen prior to picking up this book was Sunday Morning which I didn t love initially. However, poetry is sort of like musicRead MoreThe Snow Man by Wallace Stevens1518 Words   |  7 PagesAfterlife: the complete emptiness Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) wrote most of his poems during the world wars period, which took the lives of millions of people. As a result, Wallace Stevens started to question the importance of religion in the modern era, and felt that you should enjoy your life in the present and not waste time living for an afterlife. In his poem â€Å"The Snow Man†, Stevens describes a harsh winter environment creating a unique dramatic situation through an effective imagery. He