Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.
Wallace StevensRead
The consolations of space are nameless things. It was after the neurosis of winter. It was In the genius of summer that they blew up The statue of Jove among the boomy clouds. It took all day to quieten the sky And then to refill its emptiness again.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the emotional responses to nature and the changing seasons in relation to human experience.
Wallace Stevens' quote captures the transition from the desolation of winter to the vibrancy of summer, using imagery to evoke a sense of renewal and artistic creation. The mention of the statue of Jove being blown up symbolizes a transformation, where the complexities of human mental struggles are reconciled with the beauty and vastness of nature, ultimately suggesting that art and emotional expression arise from these experiences.
Themes
SpaceEmotionSeasonsNatureArtistic CreationTransformation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of nature in art during a poetry reading.
More from Wallace Stevens
All quotes →Most modern reproducers of life, even including the camera, really repudiate it. We gulp down evil, choke at good.
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After one has abandoned a belief in God, poetry is that essence which takes its place as life's redemption.
Wallace StevensRead
Why should she give her bounty to the dead? What is divinity if it can come Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
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LIGHT FROM WITHIN my friend, cancer got you damn it: you had it beat for seven years at least. how did it come back? Why all that pain. again. and you, such a fighter you fought me over and over with tears and words and promises. you fought for me with honesty and a light so bright it hurts my heart. sweet lorna. at peace now finally no more battles, just light from within a flickering candle in the dark burns with you.
Wallace StevensRead
Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.
Wallace StevensRead
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