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Wallace Stevens: Tale teller of the soul

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Date Issued:
2000
Summary:
In his work Re-Visioning Psychology, Jungian depth psychologist James Hillman defines the soul as "a perspective rather than a substance, a viewpoint toward things rather than a thing itself"(xvi). This definition helps to show the existence of a nontraditional, but not anti-Christian, soul in the works of Wallace Stevens. From the swirling chaos of "The Pleasures of Merely Circulating" to the underworld liminal irreality displayed in "Yellow Afternoon," we find psyche flourishing in the poetry of Stevens. She dwells in an underworld existence surrounded by archetypal Gods, such as Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Priapus, and Zeus. While Stevens does not use the word "soul" in any of the poems to be discussed, Hillman's theories on psyche show us that we are not to literalize our souls. We must allow psyche to transport us into a metaphoric, interior realm where Stevens's worms, his poet figure, and his readers can transform into Gods.
Title: Wallace Stevens: Tale teller of the soul.
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Name(s): Frusciante, Denise Marie.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Pearce, Howard D., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2000
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 92 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: In his work Re-Visioning Psychology, Jungian depth psychologist James Hillman defines the soul as "a perspective rather than a substance, a viewpoint toward things rather than a thing itself"(xvi). This definition helps to show the existence of a nontraditional, but not anti-Christian, soul in the works of Wallace Stevens. From the swirling chaos of "The Pleasures of Merely Circulating" to the underworld liminal irreality displayed in "Yellow Afternoon," we find psyche flourishing in the poetry of Stevens. She dwells in an underworld existence surrounded by archetypal Gods, such as Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Priapus, and Zeus. While Stevens does not use the word "soul" in any of the poems to be discussed, Hillman's theories on psyche show us that we are not to literalize our souls. We must allow psyche to transport us into a metaphoric, interior realm where Stevens's worms, his poet figure, and his readers can transform into Gods.
Identifier: 9780599955073 (isbn), 12715 (digitool), FADT12715 (IID), fau:9596 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2000.
Subject(s): Stevens, Wallace,--1879-1955--Criticism and interpretation.
Soul in literature.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12715
Sublocation: Digital Library
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.