Cubist Poetics: Wallace Stevens and Painting
Keywords:
Wallace Stevens, Cubism, Avant-garde aesthetics, Poetic process, Romantic poetics, Painting and poetryAbstract
This article analyzes the influence of French painting on Wallace Stevens' poetry, particularly through the lens of cubism. The author argues that Stevens' engagement with avant-garde aesthetics facilitated a shift from aesthetic product to process, emphasizing the unfolding of meaning rather than its representation. By juxtaposing Stevens' 'Anecdote of the Jar' with Wordsworth's 'A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal,' the article explores how Stevens' work diverges from romantic poetics. The study contends that painting provided Stevens with a theoretical framework to reorient poetry, moving from referential to compositional value. This shift is demonstrated through close readings of key poems, highlighting Stevens' unique relationship with visual art and its impact on his poetic techniques.
The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)
References
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