The Long Poems of Wallace Stevens : An Interpretive Study.

PATKE, Rajeev S.

ISBN 10: 0521301262 / ISBN 13: 9780521301268

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1985

About this Item

pp.xiii, 263 pages, a Fine hardback in a very good plus dust-jacket [0521301262].

Seller Inventory # 20417

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Long Poems of Wallace Stevens : An Interpretive Study.
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1985
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521301262
• ISBN 13: 9780521301268
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • English Literary Criticism

About this title

Synopsis

Wallace Stevens is a fascinating and enigmatic poet; the vice-president of an insurance company, a corporate lawyer, an expert on the bond market, and, almost incidentally, one of America's greatest poets. Despite the many books written about him, Stevens remains a difficult poet, whose notorious injunction - 'Poetry must resist the intelligence almost successfully' - seems to haunt all his work, and especially the long poems. This study presents a close reading of Stevens' seven longest poems: 'The Comedian as the letter C', 'Owl's Clover', 'The Man with the Blue Guitar', 'Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction', 'Esthétique du Mal', 'The Auroras of Autumn' and 'An Ordinary Evening in New Haven'. Dr Patke argues for the centrality of the long poem in Stevens' oeuvre, and of Stevens to the poetic and cultural heritage of modern times. Extensive reference is made to the shorter poems, prose and correspondence, and to the possible influences on the poetry. Critical jargon and theorising are kept at a minimum so that the pleasures of Stevens' poetic world can be made accessible to as wide a range of readers as possible.

Book Description

Despite the many books written about him, Stevens remains a difficult poet, whose notorious injunction - 'Poetry must resist the intelligence almost successfully' - seems to haunt all his work, and especially the long poems. This study presents a close reading of Stevens' seven longest poems including 'The Auroras of Autumn' and 'An Ordinary Evening in New Haven'.