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Concept of Deity in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens

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Date Issued:
1992
Summary:
Wallace Stevens sought to remove the false image of God in order to find truth and reality. His various attempts to dispel the myth of religion can be traced through his poetry and correspondence. His poetry can be divided into five phases, each illustrating Stevens's changing attitude toward God. In phase I Stevens employed simple substitution, replacing the image of the supreme with common objects. In phase II he looked for ''the god within man" while increasing his efforts to remove the illusion of God. Phase III was one of transition, where Stevens rejected former theories and sought a new direction to follow. In phase IV he concentrated on exposing the myths and defining reality. At the end of this phase, he reviewed his progress and found himself no nearer to his goal. Stevens lacked focus in phase V due to this disappointment; he died before settling on a new theory.
Title: Concept of Deity in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens.
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Name(s): Lawson, Jeanette Dee
Pearce, Howard D., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 1992
Date Issued: 1992
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 90 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Wallace Stevens sought to remove the false image of God in order to find truth and reality. His various attempts to dispel the myth of religion can be traced through his poetry and correspondence. His poetry can be divided into five phases, each illustrating Stevens's changing attitude toward God. In phase I Stevens employed simple substitution, replacing the image of the supreme with common objects. In phase II he looked for ''the god within man" while increasing his efforts to remove the illusion of God. Phase III was one of transition, where Stevens rejected former theories and sought a new direction to follow. In phase IV he concentrated on exposing the myths and defining reality. At the end of this phase, he reviewed his progress and found himself no nearer to his goal. Stevens lacked focus in phase V due to this disappointment; he died before settling on a new theory.
Identifier: FA00000932 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1992.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Subject(s): Stevens, Wallace,--1879-1955--Criticism and interpretation
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000932
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.