PRINCIPLES AND PRISMS: SYMBOLIC STRUCTURE IN THE POETRY OF WALLACE STEVENS

• Other Authors: PAU-LLOSA, RICARDO MANUEL., Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Pearce, Howard D. (Thesis advisor), Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Florida Atlantic University
• Subjects: Literature; American; Stevens Rock
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13830; https://fau.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fau%3A10658/datastream/TN/view/PRINCIPLES%20AND%20PRISMS%3A%20SYMBOLIC%20STRUCTURE%20IN%20THE%20POETRY%20OF%20WALLACE%20STEVENS.jpg

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1976. A detailed analysis of Wallace Stevens' rock and statue symbols, as they recur throughout the poet's career, reveals an intricate chronological pattern. Such a pattern is based on Stevens' philosophical commitment to a world of constant change and elusive perceptual assertions. Stevens' symbols operate through a system of meaning which is controlled and variable at the same time. Two concepts of symbolic structure are defined: the prismatic principle, or focal point through which all meanings are projected, and the spectrum of import, the expansive pattern which shapes and modulates symbolic meaning. Symbols zig-zag from abstract to concrete levels of meaning development. Four major stages are analyzed: The Icon, Stage 1 (1921-1935), The Statue, Stage 2 (1935-1938), The Transitional Levels, Stage 3 (1938-1946), and The Rock, Stage 4 (1946-1950). The paradox of co-existing pattern and flux in Stevens' symbols emerges from his overriding dualistic uncertainties. FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection