tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post115563153988927995..comments2023-11-03T11:32:01.540+00:00Comments on Thought Experiments : The Blog: Wallace Stevens, God and MetaphorBryan Appleyardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1156140028111678012006-08-21T06:00:00.000+00:002006-08-21T06:00:00.000+00:00Yes, Anon, I know it well. In the last two lines o...Yes, Anon, I know it well. In the last two lines of that great poem there are the "ambiguous undulations" of the pigeons. It's that ambiguous that defines Stevens for me.Bryan Appleyardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1156004586913391362006-08-19T16:23:00.000+00:002006-08-19T16:23:00.000+00:00Bryan: you need to check this from Sunday Morning:...Bryan: you need to check this from Sunday Morning:<BR/><BR/>Why should she give her bounty to the dead?<BR/>What is divinity if it can come<BR/>Only in silent shadows and in dreams?<BR/>Shall she not find in comforts of the sun,<BR/>In pungent fruit and bright green wings, or else<BR/>In any balm or beauty of the earth,<BR/>Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?<BR/>Divinity must liveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1155728042345032222006-08-16T11:34:00.000+00:002006-08-16T11:34:00.000+00:00Yes, I think poem is very finely balanced. The 'sm...Yes, I think poem is very finely balanced. The 'small reason' is poignant - ie it's small but, on the other hand, it seems very big. And I am all for treading on secular certainties. There was a story that, on his deathbed, Wallace converted to Catholicism, hearing which, John Ashbery remarked that it only goes to show the lies that are necessary for the production of great poetry. I have no ideaBryan Appleyardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1155725146740763252006-08-16T10:45:00.000+00:002006-08-16T10:45:00.000+00:00Treading on sacred secular certainties won't make ...Treading on sacred secular certainties won't make me popular but doesn't Wallace struggle with the idea that God and the imagination are one rather than commit wholeheartedly to the metaphor? That struggle is surely the only big position to take. He speaks of small reason....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1155677585570433752006-08-15T21:33:00.000+00:002006-08-15T21:33:00.000+00:00There is also (my own translation) from Purgatorio...There is also (my own translation) from Purgatorio<BR/><BR/>... never mind the flames, they only serve to illuminate the greatness of the Lord. ...<BR/><BR/>I have enough mugs.<BR/><BR/>Surely the whole direction of Western art is away from the sacred to the profane, which I heartily applaud, until I step inside a cathedral or listen to Byrd or Tallis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1155663355762028172006-08-15T17:35:00.000+00:002006-08-15T17:35:00.000+00:00Incidentally, David, if you go to www.wallacesteve...Incidentally, David, if you go to www.wallacestevens.com, you can get a Wallace Stevens coffee mug. Heartily recommended. I have one, as does Nige.Bryan Appleyardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1155661662746004832006-08-15T17:07:00.000+00:002006-08-15T17:07:00.000+00:00Sorry about the popups on that damn site. The ligh...Sorry about the popups on that damn site. The light forms a room in the darkness. The two people in the poem are one, a unity. The imagination and the poet. So no, probably not Plato.Bryan Appleyardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1155660182543380242006-08-15T16:43:00.000+00:002006-08-15T16:43:00.000+00:00I got a dating agency ...Is this candle the one th...I got a dating agency ...<BR/><BR/>Is this candle the one throwing the shadows on the cave wall ???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-1155635226351268592006-08-15T09:47:00.000+00:002006-08-15T09:47:00.000+00:00Good grief - I opened the link to the Final Solil...Good grief - I opened the link to the Final Soliloquy and (along with a load of dancing popup things telling me I'd won big money ) I got a picture of Tony Blair. This, surely, is carrying metaphor too far.<BR/>NAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com