The Poem That Took The Place of a Mountain by Wallace Stevens
"There it was, word for word,
The poem that took the place of a mountain."
These two lines represent the actual or concrete as well as the imaginative forms of expression often found in duality writings. The term "mountain" in poetry, and other artistic expressions, represents a challenge that one must overcome in order to gain a perspective or hindsight. The mountain is an obvious choice, offering a challenge in the climbing and the reward of a view (perspective) once at the top. In the case of Stevens' prose he is implying that the mountain is not the tangible rock formation we know, but an imaginative struggle or journey. Paving the way for the poem to be the concrete example. In it's simplest form, the words of the poem showed the same challenge, struggle, and perspective that the mountain represents. The difference being that the poem is there, in the readers hands, and the answer lay in the words waiting for their mind to unlock it. It is with that understanding that the title of the poem rings true.
Charles Tewalt
English 121W-12
Wayne Berg TA
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Charlie, I think you've raised the bar in what can be expected in poetry analysis! You are edging towards what I would like to continue to do in our class, which is understanding writing in terms of symbolism and imagination, or the "mind" as you put it.
"Paving the way for the poem to be the concrete example."
Very nice. What you are suggesting here is a revolutionary change in thought, that perhaps the poem, the artistic expression, is more real than the real mountain. Would I be correct in assuming this is what you are thinking?
Keep up the good work!
Yes, I am stating that the poem, in the sense that it is being used, can indeed replace the actual mountain. As I see it the author is using the "mountain" as an abstract idea not refering to it as rock and dirt. But the poem is refered to as "paper" and "word for word" showing that it is the real or tangible in this poem.
Post a Comment