Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Wallace Stevens’ “Country Words” blends lyrical whimsy with philosophical depth, reflecting his fascination with the interplay between language, nature, and human understanding. The poem is an exploration of the potency of words as carriers of rebellion, revelation, and meaning, set against the symbolic figure of Belshazzar. Through its playful rhythm and dense imagery, “Country Words” examines the human desire to articulate a deeper truth and the challenge of transcending the limits of perception.

The poem begins with a lively invocation: “I sang a canto in a canton, / Cunning-coo, O, cuckoo cock.” These opening lines establish a musical, almost childlike rhythm, blending simple sounds with a nod to the playful possibilities of language. The alliteration of "c" sounds and the singsong quality evoke an oral tradition, suggesting that words themselves are a kind of melody, rooted in a communal, countryside setting. However, the reference to “Belshazzar” quickly adds a layer of complexity, introducing a historical and biblical resonance that contrasts with the rustic tone.

Belshazzar, the Babylonian king known for the "writing on the wall" in the Book of Daniel, symbolizes hubris, judgment, and the enigmatic nature of prophecy. Stevens’ depiction of him as a "putrid rock" and "pillar of a putrid people" ties the king’s legacy to decay and moral corruption. The speaker’s song, performed “underneath a willow,” becomes a counterpoint to this image of stagnation and arrogance. The willow, often associated with sorrow and resilience, serves as a symbolic witness to the speaker’s defiant act of filling the air with song. The juxtaposition of the natural setting with the decayed grandeur of Belshazzar hints at a rebellion against both oppressive authority and the limitations of historical narratives.

Stevens characterizes the song as “an old rebellious song, / An edge of song that never clears.” The phrase “edge of song” suggests a sharpness, a tension, or a potential that remains unresolved. This unresolved quality mirrors the human struggle to express profound truths or to fully understand existence. The speaker imagines the possibility of clarity: “If the cloud that hangs / Upon the heart and round the mind / Cleared from the north.” This hypothetical clearing, likened to the sun reddening Belshazzar’s brow, represents a moment of revelation, a lifting of ignorance or confusion. Yet, the speculative tone underscores the elusive nature of such moments.

The speaker?s invocation of Belshazzar is both ironic and sincere. By addressing the ruler as "rude / With rubies," Stevens imbues the figure with a mix of grandeur and vulgarity, reflecting the tension between power and corruption. The demand, “attend me now,” is an assertion of the speaker’s voice against the weight of history and authority. This moment highlights the poem’s theme of language as a tool of resistance and self-assertion.

The latter half of the poem shifts focus to the speaker’s introspection: “What is it that my feeling seeks?” This question grounds the poem’s lyrical and historical flourishes in a personal quest for meaning. The speaker acknowledges a sense of incompleteness, describing the longing as something shaped by "all the things it touched / And left beside and left behind." This imagery evokes the transient nature of experience and the human tendency to seek permanence or ultimate understanding.

The desire is articulated as a search for “the diamond pivot bright,” an image that suggests clarity, balance, and the unchanging center of existence. This "pivot" becomes a metaphor for truth or enlightenment, something that transcends the ephemeral and the mundane. Yet, the poem does not resolve whether such a pivot can be found. The luminous pages on Belshazzar’s knee suggest both the possibility of revelation and the inscrutability of such truths. Stevens juxtaposes the grandeur of "being, more than birth or death" with the immediacy of words “virile with his breath,” grounding the abstract in the tangible act of speech and expression.

“Country Words” captures Stevens’ characteristic tension between the desire for transcendence and the constraints of the human condition. The playful tone and musicality of the poem belie its deeper meditations on the power of words to challenge, illuminate, and articulate the ineffable. By invoking Belshazzar, Stevens situates this exploration within a larger historical and mythological framework, reminding readers of the enduring struggle to find meaning in a world that is both mutable and opaque. Ultimately, the poem celebrates the act of seeking itself, embracing the vitality of language as a tool for discovery, resistance, and connection.

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