What is Divinity

Wallace Stevens 1879 (Reading) – 1955 (Hartford)



What is divinity if it can come
Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
Shall she not find in comforts of the sun,
In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else
In any balm or beauty of the earth,
Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?
Divinity must live within herself:
Passions of rain, or moods in falling snow;
Grievings in loneliness, or unsubdued
Elations when the forest blooms; gusty
Emotions on wet roads on autumn nights;
All pleasures and all pains, remembering
The bough of summer and the winter branch,
These are the measures destined for her soul.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
66

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDECFGHHIJKL
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 570
Words 104
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. more…

All Wallace Stevens poems | Wallace Stevens Books

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