Sunday morning by wallace stevens

Great literature resonates in a variety of important areas. For example, it allows mankind to focus on itself by offering metaphoric and literal allusions to real-world situations, highlighting both vices and commendable aspects of human life. Great literature, like great music, transcends time and is celebrated even today. It alters our understanding of the real as well as the perceived worlds, giving us more insight into our very being. Sunday Morning by Wallace Stevens is an example of poetic greatness since it combines these fundamentals and is generally considered as one of the most powerful poems of the twentieth century. Analysis of the 2nd Stanza in Wallace Stevens’ Sunday Morning
Style
As is evident throughout Stevens’ poems, his use of style while composing his poetic works of art, is impeccable and unmatched. Key to this is his mastery of diction. The poem brings to light the beauty of nature by using such words as ‘bounty, balm, blooming of the forest’ (Stevens, 12). These reverberate with the reader of the true beauty embodied within the earth and the wonderful emotions the reader can recall to when they were experiencing such elements of nature. Stevens’ diction in the stanza, is indicative of the gravity of the thoughts running through the mind of the protagonist as she enjoys her Sunday Morning. ‘Divinity’ is mentioned twice in the stanza, bringing to the reader’s attention that the woman is pondering on the nature of religion. Its connotation, which is associated with beings that are sublime, and beyond this world, impact the reader with the critical nature of the woman’s thoughts. Similarly, the words, ‘grievings, passions, and elations’ are all aimed at the painting of as clear a picture as possible, of the thoughts of the woman as she ponders the nature of things in the midst of her Sunday Morning. The poem also, on multiple accounts, utilizes questions in the stanza. Queries posited by Stevens, are purposed to not only evidence the inner conflict taking place within the woman’s mind, but are meant to enhance the reader’s perception on the subject matter by leaving said philosophical inquiries to the conjecture of the reader. Stevens employs excellent diction and poetic style to merge the 2nd stanza to the overall theme of the poem which is a skeptical outlook on religion by the protagonist.

Content

In regard to content, the 2nd stanza fits perfectly into the overall target of the poem which is a discourse on religion and nature. The first line of the 2nd stanza unveils to the reader, the skepticism held by the woman towards Christianity (Stevens, 17). She ponders on why she should abandon the beauties of the world in search for religious fulfillment which would have been her going to church. The 2nd and 3rd lines of the stanza, extenuate her skepticism, as she posits the question of the importance of divinity if it can only exist when she opts to think about it, or in other flights of her fancy, to wit, the poem supposes to be shadows and dreams. The 4th to 7th lines address her consideration for the extensive beauty inherent to nature and the earth as she experienced it. This is instrumental in her discussion regarding the divinity and nature as she considers that her physical and spiritual needs can be fulfilled in nature, revealing that she is not just hedonistic. In the 8th to 14th lines of the stanza, the woman declares that divinity exists solely as a psychological projection, affirming that “Divinity must live within herself” (Angyal, 23). She attributes it to powerful emotions felt during one’s life such as grief and joy. These lines introduce the reader to the heavy discussion that is the authenticity and by imperativeness of spirituality to human life. In the last line of the stanza, the woman offers her resolute position on the matter of religion, affirming that she will measure her soul, not by her spiritual conviction, but by the nature of intense emotions she experiences throughout her life. This sets up the rest of the poem, as the reader is curious about what more she has to offer with regard to the intricate matter of religion as it relates to human existence.



Works Cited

Angyal, Andrew J. "Wallace Stevens' “Sunday Morning”: As Secular Belief". Christianity &Literature, vol 29, no. 1, 1979, pp. 30-38. SAGE Publications,doi:10.1177/014833317902900108.

Stevens, Wallace. "Sunday Morning by Wallace Stevens". Poetry Foundation, 2017,https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/13261.