Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.
Wallace StevensRead
I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections, Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling, Or just after.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep appreciation for the beauty found in language and nature.
Wallace Stevens reflects on the nuanced beauty that can be found in both the subtleties of language and the sounds of nature. He contrasts the beautiful variations in speech and poetic expression, represented by 'inflections' and 'innuendoes', with the simple yet profound beauty of a blackbird's song, capturing the duality of appreciation for both aesthetic language and natural beauty.
Themes
BeautyLanguageNaturePoetryExpression
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire artists during a gallery opening to discuss the interplay of language and nature.
More from Wallace Stevens
All quotes βMost modern reproducers of life, even including the camera, really repudiate it. We gulp down evil, choke at good.
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After one has abandoned a belief in God, poetry is that essence which takes its place as life's redemption.
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Why should she give her bounty to the dead? What is divinity if it can come Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
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Wallace StevensRead
Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.
Wallace StevensRead
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