But it was she and not the sea we heard.
Whilst he is sitting on the beach and reflecting upon the beauty of art, the narrator is surrounded by the sounds of the sea. And, though the sea was loud and the sound of its waves overpowering, all the narrator can hear is his love’s song. Her song overpowered the sea and drowned out the sound of the crashing waves.
She was the single artificer of the world
In which she sang.
And when she sang, the sea,
Whatever self it had, became the self
That was her song.
Once again, the narrator is contemplating the incredible power and worth of art. He explains that, through the song, the art and its artist are in complete control. They are all-powerful and therefore have the power to control and change the world. And, in fact, that is precisely what the narrator suggests art does. The narrator suggests that art not only changes our perceptions of the world but crafts and invents the world on its own terms. In this way, our world is based upon art and artists.
For she was the maker of the song she sang.
Here, author Wallace Stevens attempts to convey a very straightforward comparison between the “maker” and poets. He establishes the word “maker” early on in his poem and therefore encourages readers to associate poets and artists with this idea of being a “maker” and a “creator.” The word “maker” is also suggestive of The Maker—of God. In this way, Stevens is drawing a parallel between poets/artists and the creation of all things poetic and creative. Stevens urges his reader to believe that poets are at the helm of all creative power.
Then the theatre was changed
To something else.
Its past was a souvenir.
In this stanza, which is drenched in subtle metaphor, Stevens suggests that there was a drastic shift in human subconsciousness in recent years. He explains that the theatre—the entire presentation and existence of humans—changed to “something else.” There was a shift away from the conventional. This shift transformed our world and rendered the past a “souvenir.” In other words, modern existence has changed so much that we will never return to our past existence—the past is a mere trinket that we can behold and gaze upon. Part of what makes this stanza and poem so frustratingly brilliant is that he does not ever articulate precisely what this change entailed. He only suggests that this change, whatever it may have been, was significant.
The poem of the mind in the act of finding
What will suffice.
This opening quotation carries great significance in connection to spirituality. From the get-go, Stevens positions this poem as the definition of modern poetry. An understanding of this is essential, as it contextualizes this quote and the remainder of the poem. Stevens uses these opening lines to suggest that it is the poet’s job to show humans how we can find the best form of spiritual fulfillment. He argues that conventions of the modern world have made it difficult for modern people to find genuine spiritual fulfillment. Stevens therefore urges people to use poetry—this poem—as a guide for finding adequate spiritual fulfillment.
It has to be living,
To learn the speech of the place.
As Stevens has articulated before, he believes that poetry and poems should be used to guide people to a place of genuine and fulfilling spiritual gratification. If poetry is going to do this successfully, however, Stevens believes that poets cannot continue to use the language of old. He believes that poetry must be relatable and translatable if it is to be genuinely useful. In other words, poets must learn to use “regular language” that will connect to the “regular people” that are reading the poetry. Poetry should speak to the here and now and shouldn’t flatter itself with artificial timelessness through superfluous language.
It has to think about war,
And it has to find what will suffice.
Once again, Stevens speaks to the historical and political importance of poetry. Here, he is suggesting that poets often speak of love, flowers, women, and other dainty topics. This, he insists, does a disservice to all those who read poetry. Stevens believes that poetry must capture history’s darker moments—moments of war and hate. The horrors of the modern world must be captured, because the target audience has changed. Gone are the days where readers can be easily wooed by tales of love and beauty. Poetry must now shy away from these fairy-tale depictions and instead acknowledge all the ugly horrors of the modern world. Though poetry does not need to paint the world in a bleak light, it should not paint it as a fairy-tale, either.
