Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Wallace Stevens’ "Two Versions of the Same Poem, That Which Cannot Be Fixed: 1" delves into themes of impermanence, transformation, and the human struggle to comprehend the fluid and ephemeral nature of existence. The poem employs vivid maritime imagery, blending it with philosophical inquiries about the nature of reality and the challenges of representing that reality through art or thought.

The poem begins with the speaker turning to “that which could not be fixed.” This phrase sets the stage for a meditation on the mutable and unfixed nature of existence. The setting by the sea—“insolid rock” and the calling out of “stentor,” the loud-voiced herald from Greek mythology—evoke a world both unstable and resonant. The sea, a traditional symbol of the subconscious and the infinite, becomes a central metaphor for the complexities of human thought and perception. It is an arena where boundaries blur, and the fixed points of reality dissolve into the undulating rhythms of water and time.

The speaker addresses the "Lascar," a sailor or worker of foreign origin often associated with maritime labor, grounding the poem in the context of human endeavor against the backdrop of the sea’s vastness. The Lascar becomes a figure of inquiry and imagination, embodying the human desire to navigate and make sense of the ungraspable. The speaker questions whether there is “a body, turbulent / With time, in wavering water lies, swollen / With thought.” This body, ambiguous and undefined, could symbolize the human mind or spirit, struggling with the currents of time and thought. The imagery of the body lying lengthwise like “the cloud of sleep, not quite / Reposed” suggests a restless, dreamlike state—an existence caught between consciousness and unconsciousness, between clarity and mystery.

The poem then shifts focus to the heart, described as "puissant" or powerful, with its tolling pulses representing the forces of vitality and selfhood. This heart animates the body, its rhythms echoing the broader currents of the sea. Yet, these “vigors” produce “the difficult images of possible shapes / That cannot now be fixed.” The interplay of vitality and form underscores the theme of transformation: life generates endless possibilities, but these possibilities resist definitive representation or understanding. The imagery here points to the challenges of artistic creation and philosophical inquiry, as the shapes that emerge from imagination and perception remain elusive and incomplete.

Stevens further emphasizes the fluidity of existence with the lines, “Only there is / A beating and a beating in the centre of / The sea, a strength that tumbles everywhere.” This central beating could symbolize the pulse of life or the heart of the universe—a force both chaotic and creative, ever-changing and omnipresent. The metaphor of “more and more becoming less and less” evokes the paradox of infinite division and transformation, where each act of change both diminishes and expands the essence of what is.

The poem’s exploration of space and transformation continues with the idea of space “dividing its blue and by division / Being changed.” This metamorphosis reflects Stevens’ recurring interest in the interplay between perception and reality. The sea becomes a metaphor for the process of understanding—“the sailor’s metier”—where the act of navigating its depths mirrors the act of grappling with abstract ideas. The transition “from that which was conceived to that / Which was realized” mirrors the creative process, in which imagination shapes and reshapes reality, yet never fully captures it.

The poem concludes with an enigmatic line, “Sleep deep, good eel, in your perverse marine.” The eel, a creature of the sea, represents adaptability and persistence within a fluid and unpredictable environment. Its “perverse marine” evokes a world of contradictions, where what is natural also defies understanding. The directive to “sleep deep” suggests a surrender to the mysteries of existence, an acknowledgment that some questions will remain unanswered and some realities unfixed.

In "That Which Cannot Be Fixed: 1," Stevens masterfully intertwines imagery and philosophical reflection to explore the nature of impermanence and the challenges of grasping the ineffable. The sea, with its fluidity and vastness, becomes a metaphor for the mutable world of thought and experience. The poem resists resolution, reflecting Stevens’ belief in the inherent complexity and ambiguity of existence. Through its rich imagery and meditative tone, the poem invites readers to embrace the dynamic, ever-changing nature of life and the imagination, finding meaning not in fixed certainties but in the ongoing process of exploration and transformation.

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