Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.
Wallace StevensRead
Nothing could be more inappropriate to American literature than its English source since the Americans are not British in sensibility.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the differences in sensibility between American and British literature, asserting that American literature should stand apart from its English roots.
Wallace Stevens emphasizes that American literature possesses a unique identity that cannot simply be derived from British literature. He suggests that the sensibilities, cultural influences, and experiences of Americans shape their literary expressions in ways that differ significantly from those of their British counterparts. This statement invites readers to appreciate and explore the distinctive characteristics of American literature as it develops independently of English literary traditions.
Themes
American LiteratureBritish LiteratureSensibilityIdentityCulture
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the evolution of American literature in a classroom.
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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LIGHT FROM WITHIN my friend, cancer got you damn it: you had it beat for seven years at least. how did it come back? Why all that pain. again. and you, such a fighter you fought me over and over with tears and words and promises. you fought for me with honesty and a light so bright it hurts my heart. sweet lorna. at peace now finally no more battles, just light from within a flickering candle in the dark burns with you.
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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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