Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.
Wallace StevensRead
The river is moving. The blackbird must be flying.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that change is a constant in life, and one must adapt to keep moving forward.
In this quote, Wallace Stevens highlights the inevitability of change through the imagery of a river's movement and a blackbird in flight. The flowing river symbolizes the passage of time and the continuous changes in life, while the flying blackbird represents the need for individuals to embrace change and remain adaptable in an ever-evolving world.
Themes
ChangeNatureAdaptationLifeMovement
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to encourage adaptability in times of change.
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.
Wallace StevensRead
After one has abandoned a belief in God, poetry is that essence which takes its place as life's redemption.
Wallace StevensRead
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.
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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