The Long Poems of Wallace Stevens: An Interpretative Study

WallaceStevensisafascinatingandenigmaticpoet;thevice-presidentofaninsurancecompany,acorporatelawyer,anexpertonthebondmarket,and,almostincidentally,oneofAmerica'sgreatestpoets.Despitethemanybookswrittenabouthim,Stevensremainsadifficultpoet,whosenotoriousinjunction-'Poetrymustresisttheintelligencealmostsuccessfully'-seemstohauntallhiswork,andespeciallythelongpoems.ThisstudypresentsaclosereadingofStevens'sevenlongestpoems:'TheComedianastheletterC','Owl'sClover','TheManwiththeBlueGuitar','NotesTowardaSupremeFiction','EsthétiqueduMal','TheAurorasofAutumn'and'AnOrdinaryEveninginNewHaven'.DrPatkearguesforthecentralityofthelongpoeminStevens'oeuvre,andofStevenstothepoeticandculturalheritageofmoderntimes.Extensivereferenceismadetotheshorterpoems,proseandcorrespondence,andtothepossibleinfluencesonthepoetry.CriticaljargonandtheorisingarekeptataminimumsothatthepleasuresofStevens'poeticworldcanbemadeaccessibletoaswidearangeofreadersaspossible.