poems by Wallace Stevens
著者（英） Setsuko Yokoyama
journal or
publication title
Core
number 41
page range 23‑50
year 2012‑03‑13
URL http://doi.org/10.14988/pa.2017.0000015159
Modern Sunday S c h o o l :
core
Vo 41 .l March 2012
A C l o s e R e a d i n g o f P o e r n s by W a l l a c e S t e v e n s
Setsuko Yokoyama
How do we talktoday" to project a better tomorrow with a language inherited from yesterday? A High‑Toned Old Christian Woman" and Sunday Morning，" early poems by Wallace Stevens， may answer such a question. One way of looking at these poems is to see their aim as promoting what has be叩 neglectedin the teaching of Christianity. These two poems， published in 1923 in Stev巴ns'first volumeラHarmonium， adapt the style of an argument and a dialogue， respectively， between Stevens and a woman. 1 intend to refer to the persona of these poems as Stevens himself a8 the matter ofb巴liefis a theme h巴wroteabout in letters and in his aphorisms (Adagia) over the course of his entire career as a writer. In 1940， decad巴safter he began publishing， Stevens writes as follows in a lett巴rto the critic， Hi Simons:It is a habit of mind with me to be thinking of some substitute for religion. […] My trouble， and the 佐oubleofa greatmanyp巴ople，is the 108S ofbeliefin the 80rt of God in Whom we were all brought up to believ巴"(H.St芯vens348). The timing for composing poems that ofti巴ra contemporary description of the age， and with the possible intention of being a prescription for another age， could not have been any better for Stev巴ns.That is to say， when he published the poetryラtherewas Prohibition on th巴onehand and what we speakofasthe jazz age" on the other. In other words， the ag巴wasexperiencing a kind
23
of asceticism which had attained its final shape of nineteenth c巴n旬rytemperance movements while a new geme of music was embodying what this asceticism aimed to restrain.
Let us proc巴巴dto Stevens' argument as framed when he found himself in the city ofN巴wYork，wh巴r巴peoplewere not only 命令ingth巴EighteenthAmendment [prohibition of alcoho11 openly but also having a great time doing it" (Lerner 151). The poem opens with Stevens' th巴SlSstat巴ment:
Poetry is the suprem巴fiction，madam巴
Take the morallaw and make a nav巴ofit And from the nav巴buildhaunted heaven. Thus， Th巴conscienceis convert巴dinto palms， Like windy cithems h且nkeringfor hymns. We agree in principle. That's clear. But take The opposing law and make a peristyl巴，
And from the peristyle project a masque Beyond the planets. Thusラourbawdiness， Unpurged by epitaph， indulged at last， 1s巴quallyconverted into palms，
Squiggling like saxophones. And palm for palm， Madame， we ar巴wherew巴began.Allow， Therefore，仕切tin the planetary scene Your disaffected flagellants， w巴l1‑stuffedヲ
Smacking their muzzy bellies in paradeラ
Modern Sunday Schoo1
Pround of such novelties ofthe sublime， Such tink and tank and tunk‑a闘tunk‑tunkラ
Maぁmerelymay， madam巴，whip from themselves Ajovial hullabaloo among the spheres.
This will mak巴，widowswinc巴.But fictive things Wink as they wiIl. Wink most when widows wince. (4η
25
With th巴intentionto urge that [p Joetry is the supreme fiction，" Stevens arranges his argument. Let us follow how he develops an argument designe ，dif not to persuade his high‑toned old Christian woman， at least to p巴rsuadehimself and his readers. To begin withラStevenspoints out how Christian moral law conv巴rtsconscienceラanotion without a form， into palms，" substantial palm leaves. One ofthe巴V巴ntsthat highlights th巴associationbetween conscience and palms is Palm Sunday， the annual celebration which commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday befor巴Easte.r Inevitably， Palm Sunday calls to th巴mindthe notable consequenc巴ofth巴Crucifixion，
what Stevens refi巴rsto， in Sunday Morning，" as that old catastrophe" (53)， a sudden upheaval
As an agent of a counterst乱t巴ment，and by ad昌ptinga style p丘ralleIto the Christian morallaw， Stevens illustrates the opposing law." 1t is the law that al10ws our bawdiness" to be conv巴rtedinto palms." The conventionaI idea of bawdiness， or what is immodest， indelicat巴ラlicentious;especially in sexual matters" (Partridge 7札 must be examined before Stevens works his transformations.
We may regard bawdiness" in terms of such Biblical texts as thisラfromSt. Paul's epistles: we know that th巴lawis spiritual: but 1 am carnaIラsoIdunder sin"
(Rom.7.14) and 1 know that in m巴(thatis， in my fiesh，) dwelleth no good thing"
(Rom.7.18). Moreover， th巴strugglewith human bawdiness" is best described in th巴
Bible as this; 1 se巴anotherlaw in my memb巴rsラwarringagainst the law of my min ，d and bringing me into captivity to the law ofsin which is inmy members" (Rom.7.23).
Members" here， according to the Oxford of English Dictionary， may refer to human genitals， or more generally， to all th巴partsofth巴body.Indeed，也isway of thinking as of the body is good for those who accept Christian t巴achingsso that they may then utter， with S1. Paul，1 thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 80 th巴nwith the mind 1 myself serv巴thelaw of God; but with the fiesh the law of sin" (Rom.7.25). Those who do not follow the teaching， however，紅巳 l巴ftunder th巴lawof sin，" that is unpurg巴dby epitaph，" an inscription upon a tomb. That is， w巴maysp巴akof an inscription" such as that of S1. Paul， saying that， in Jesus Christラwehave redemption through his bloo ，dth巴 forgiven巴ssof sins， according to the riches of his grac巴"
(Ephesians 1.7). The only way， and what was pres巴nt巴das th巴onlyway， to be purged of sin had b巴巴nto follow the Christian moral law. Thus，" writ巴s8tev巴ns，our traditionally lowly esteem巴dbawdiness， or th巴lawlessd巴sireof:fl巴sh，is to b巴convert巴d into palms" Stevens presents.
The opposing law is now introduced by adapting th巴phrasingof the morallaw. Skill白lly，the sense ofpalms" in th巳po巴mhasbeen巴xchangedラbyth巴timewe reach line 11， from what had be巴nbased on conscience" in line 4. That is to say， while r巴tainingthe sound ofpalms，"th巴sens巴ofth巴palmshi自tsto th巴onethat derives from the opposing law" bas巴don our bawdiness." Now that th巴bawdinessis sung， or celebrated in this v巴rypoem， it is converted into a poemラavery diffi巴r巴ntSOlt of
Modem Sunday School 27
hymn." N ot only the unsung theme finds its singer in this poem but also the bawdiness and "members" no longer bear any n巴gativecounotations. B巴ingconvert叫 palmsare parts of our mere handsラwithwhich we might smack our muzzy bellies，purged"
企omthe exclusive morallaw.
Once this takeover is achievedラthosewhow巴reonce consider巴das disaffected flagellants，" those who no longer accept the ascetic regimeラproudly巳mbracetheir conditions. B巴ing well‑s旬ffed，"what under the moral law may b巴consideredto involve th巴sinof gluttony， is not to be accus巴dunder the opposing law that elevates such a condition. Instead of the solemn procession on Palm Sunday at church， of which Stevens may se巴as the procession of the dead" (53) in Sunday Morning，" a parade with "a jovial hullabaloo" is introduced. At last， the high‑toned‑ness of that
、
ldChristian woman，" a moral snobラifyouwillラisreplaced with the soundラtinkandtank and tunk‑a‑tunk‑tunk，" finally， with no s巴ns巴atallラorwithnonsens巴
Furthermor巴，Stevens develops his idea. Ifthe morallaw" may make anav巴
th巴mainpart of a church， and may， from that vantag巴point，buildhaunted heaven;"
th巴opposinglaw" shall makea peristyle，" and proj ect a masque beyond the planets."
By a peristyle，" Stevens may have in mind a theatre opposed to a church wher巴
masqu巴s"are performed instead ofmass." Moreover， the intention of the performance that shall take place at the peristyle is set at th巴scaleof the univers巴.Th巴projection of a masque， as an opposing production to that ofhaunted heaven，" is that of the planet Earth among other planets. The masque" which ought to be attractive is， according to the OED，a form of courtly dramatic entertaimnentラ oftenrichly symbolicラinwhich music and dancing played a substantial partラcostumesand stage
machinery tend巴dto be elaborat巴，and the audience might be invited to contribut巴to the action or the dancing." The presentation ofthe opposing law and its consequ巴nc巴S
r巴fiectSt巴vens'belief， as he puts in his Ad，α~giaラ that “thehighest pursuit is位lepursuit ofhappiness on earth" (900).
Does this m巳anthat the high‑toned old C百il:stianwoman does not beli巴vein the pursuit ofhappiness? Stevensラasamat士eroffactラstatesthat heagrees" with his high‑ toned old Christian woman in principle. B巴foreconsidering the case of agr田ment，1巴t us金stconsider the possibility that they do not come to an agr巴巴ment.
InせlIscase， the argument framed by Stevens might fail towink." For instanceぅ
th巴 bellies"that are muzzy，" affi巴ctedby alcohol， can be r司ardedas a controversial symbol in the 1920s， and how we regard such a norm 1ikely depends， ultimatelyヲon wh巴therwe are for Temperance or for jazz (and all that is associated with jazz in this context). It is noteworthy that one of出emost active agents of the temperance movement was th巴WCTU，the Woman's Christian Temperance Union， in which a high‑toned old Christian woman might hav巴founda homeラingood company. The union aim巴dto establish a "pure" America by means of social reformation. Notably， stories in the Young Crusader， the p巴riodicalof the WCTU published since 1887ラ
m巴lodramaticallyillustrat巴 ぬ 巴importanceof Temperance. To stat巴afi巴W 巴xamples，
Th巴LittleCaptain" by Lynde Palm巴rpub1ished in 1911 illustrat巴sa father who participates in th巴 wildorgi巴s"of th巴saloonr巴sultingin his own d巴structiOll， and Roger Hillman' s Honor" by Jennie N. Standifl巴rin1913 illustrat巴sa widowed mother' s difficulty with her son who indulges himself in smoking cigare杭:es.1
Stevensラ onthe other handラtakesせ1巴sid巴ofjazzラ theage of squiggling
Modern Sunday School 29
saxophones" (so to speak). The work of Stevens can be seen as one of many count巴rstatementsto the巴stablishmentof a dry" society. One of the famous prohibition‑era songs，Save a Little Dram for Me" is an example. The persona in the song， Parson Johnson， lam巴ntsthe situation that one of the bretheren ofthe church is K巴epingthe gin to himself. The song， popularized by the comedian， Bert Williams， in 1920ラputsthe case as follows:
In the middle ofhis sermon， Parson Johnson 'ros巴andst乱rtedsnif白l'the aJr‑
A familiar smell was ticklin' up the Parsons nose it told him Gin" was round somewhere一
H巴closedhis Bible gently in the middle of th巴Psalnr一
And started figur'n mently where that smell was comin' from一[…]
When they passed that bone dry law 1 was the very first to say it never wouldstay‑
Neither did 1 think th巴lawcould r巴gulateour thirst thats why 1 got none stored away‑
Now since Probition's got us drinks are few and far betw巴en‑
Ofall th巴stingyBrothers you're the worst 1 ever seen‑
I insists" on my share一 Dont say its all run out‑
Or else you'll go to whea一
That bad place 1 been preachin' 'bout. Oh! Bretheren ifyou wants more preachin'
Save a little dram for m巴
(Glory Hallilu巴h)
Drinkin' Gin ain't against my t巴achin' Tr巴atme with equality‑(Skidmore)
The巴qualityhぽ巴ismerely that of sharing alcohol. Such talk maymake widows wince." The song is funny as the style of speech is that of a Christian， while the content is that of a drunkard. In oth巴rwords，the preacher" wants a little dram" ofthe jin. As long as this person remains in th巴Christiancommunity， howev民 ahigh‑toned old Christian woman may impos巴hersuperior moral t巴achingupon him. Th巴language adapt巴dby the persona in the song， by Parson Johnson， has its limitation and can be r巴gardedas a mere mockery of the high‑toned‑ness of a telling old Cl凶stianwoman.
Notablyラthesong was perform巴dby Bert Williams who was famous for his traditional performanc巴inblackface or as a master of the doubl巴巴ntendresong in which he oft巴nmix巴dhumor with bitter political criticism" (Aberjhani 33). Th巴r巴mayb巴a pot巴ntial"wink，" in th巴linestating to his bretheren that unl巴ssth巴Parsonis accorded equal佐eatmen:tyou'll go to wher・巴ー‑thatbad pIω巴Ib巴enpr巴achin''bout." Th巴bad place" the Parson would refer to is， literaIly， Hell， so bad that it appears be抗ertocut of offending hands as the Bible has in Mark 9:43. At the same time， the place may be bad" but not necessarily evil" unless Christians want it to be. Mor巴ov巴r，as the bad place" is sung by B巴rtWilliams， the place s巴巴msto imply， with the association of his app巴aranc巴，where people dance to the squiggling" saxophonおうaspeakeasy
The巴qualityStevens pr巴sentsin the poem is th巴onethat wink[s] most when widows wince" [emphasis mine]. As we have alr巴adyse e，nStevens addresses his
Modem Sunday School 31
poem to a high‑toned old Christian woman， using diction that grows out ofher diction， an ，dto her disma:ぁprophesiesthat he shall overcome the boundary separating the believer and the nOlトbelieverin the law in question. It is a question of generosity， and this is why the po巴m，asuprem巴fiction，"makes widows wince." Moreover， towar由 the巴ndof this highly nonsensical last line of the poemラahigh‑toned old Christian woman， too， has b巴entransfoロn巴d.That is to say， sh巴iswidow巴d.The reason for her shift in condition may have to do with the sound or music" ofthe poem itself. That is to sa:ぁStevensarranges a紅白nof alliteration and consonants involving the sound of
"w." Arguably， if a Christian woman identifies herself with those Biblical virginsラas depicted in Matthew 25ラwiththe lamps to meet the bridegroom， the Son of Go ，dshe is a widow， in the eyes of St巴vens，who sees in Sunday Morning" that the tomb in Palestine" is nothing but the grave of Jesus， where he lay" (56)ヲjustas would any other morta l.
The poem reaches its en ，dand we do not witness the result of Stevens' argument. It is noteworthy， for now， that Stevens attempts to make the woman wince" by going as far to make her a widow‑‑possibly according to the sentimental" diction of a high‑toned old Christian woman， such as seen in the Young Crusader
II
Let us now proceed to the case when Stevens offers his han ，dnot yet for a handshake to come to an agreement， but for leading the hand of a woman towards his idea ofthe supreme fiction." The woman represented in the following poem is not a high開tonedold Christian woman. In contrast， she appears young and relatively low‑
toned，" i.e.， she is no prudish moralizer. This is a woman who， if introduced to th巴
argument betw巴巴nStevens and the old Cl凶sti叩 woman，may find herse1f standing in betwe巴nthe two. Her non‑committa1 na加reis best illustrated by Stevens in the first stanza in Sunday Morning，" which has eight stanzas in total:
Comp1acencies ofせlepeignoirうand1ate Co能eand oranges in a sunny chair， And仕1巴gr巴enfreedom of a cockatoo Upon a rug ming1e to dissipate The ho1y hush of ancient sacrifice. She dreams a litt1e， and sh巴f巴巴lsthe dark Encroachm巴ntofthat old catastrophe， As a ca1m darkens among water‑lights. Thepung巴ntorang巴sand bright， green wings S巴巴mthings in some procession ofthe d巴ad， Winding across wide water， without sound. The day is lik巴widewaterラwithoutsoun ，d Stilled for the passing ofher dreaming feet Overth巴seas，to sil巴ntPa1estine， Dominion ofthe b100d and s巴pulchr巴.(53)
This woman sleeps in on a Sunday and巴njoysher co能 巴andoranges in th巴sun.She may appear to be fre巴asa green cockatoo"企omth巴solemnatmosphere of church that asks the attendants to remain silent. The joyous notion of her Sunday is but momentary， for the notion that implies the Passion of Christ in Pa1巴stinedisturbs th巴
Modern Sunday School 33
woman. Though she does not seem to mind h巴rnOIトchurchgoing，her thought is nonetheless loosely bound to the teaching of the church. In other words， while she physically sits in the sun in the United States (supposedly)， h巴rthoughts fiy beyond the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea to Palestine， n巴arthe Dead Sea. The destination ofher thought is the dominion ofthe blood and sepulchr巴，"or， as St巴:vens puts in the last stanza of the poem，th巴graveof Jesusラwherehe lay" (56). As the woman dreamsラthis nightmare，"not 丘ightenenough to wake her up，" disintegrates her physical and psychological locations. Especially the psychological side of her is not only divided place‑wise but also time‑wise. That is to say， her present thinking (supposedly in 1915， when th巴poemwas originally composed by Stevens) is depicted as being haunted from the description of events， esp巴ciallythat ofthe Crucifixion， that have been disseminated for more than a mi1lennium by the church.
Stevens' response to the woman is that the paradise today is this v巴ryearth. He att巴mptsto introduc巴thisidea by conducting， in the third stanza of the poem， a chronological examination of divinity， that is， the changing ideas about divinity over the long history ofthe the Western tradition:
Jove in the clouds had his inhuman birth. No mother suckled him， no sweet land gave Large‑mannered motions to his mythy mind. He moved among us， as a muttering king， Magnificentラwouldmove among his hindsラ
Until our bloodラcommingling，virginalラ
明石thheaven， brought such requital to desire
The very hinds discerned it， in a star. Shall our blood fail? Or shall it com巴tobe The blood of paradis巴?And shall the earth Se巴m al1 of paradis巴thatwe shall know? (54)
First comes Jov巴，the highest deity of the anci巴ntRomans; he repr巴sentsan inhuman divinity. He is d巴pictedby Stevens as having th巴leastassociation with the worldly or earthly" sphere， and with th巴ideaof a moth巴r.That kind of diviniザgetsreplaced by a semi‑human divinity. The birth of this s巴mi‑humandivinity refi巴rsto Jesus. The illusなationof his moth巴rconceiving the chil ，dor our bloo ，dcommingling， virginal， with heav巴n，"isw巳11known from the Bible. The Bible has it told by th巴angelGabriel to Mary as follows: 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon th巴巴ぅandthe power of the Highest shall overshadow th
∞ :
ther巴forealso that holy thing which shall be born of the巴shallbe called the Son ofGod" (Luke 1.35).Theargum巴ntSt巴vensmayb巴proposingto the somewhat diffident， uncommittedヲ
or complacent" woman is this: since history has se巴nthe transformation of divinityラ
企ominhuman to semi‑human， it naturally follows that the time for a m巴relyhuman divinity" shall come. Moreov巴r，the historical shift， illustrat巴dby Stevens， suggests the growth of importance in how th巴divinityis associated with the earth and with the mother. This mer巴lyhuman divinity， therefor巴ラoughtto be earthly and fully associated with the moth巴r，with i臼origin.To the woman in peignoir， who happens to be a potential mother， Stevens states in the s巴condstanza:
Why should she give h巴rbounty to the dead? What is divinity if it can com巴
Modern Sunday School
Only in silent shadows and in dreams? Shall she not find in comforts ofthe sunラ
Inpungent企uitand bright， green wings， or else In any balm or beauty of th巴earthラ
Things to be. cherished like th巴thoughtofheaven? Divinity must live within herself:
Passions of rainラormoods in falling snow; Grievings in lonelinessヲorunsubdued Elations when the forest blooms; gusty Emotions on wet roads on autunm nights; All pleasures and all painsラr巴membering The bough of summer and the winter branch. These are the measures destined for h巴rsou l.(53‑54)
35
This divini勿，"now fully earthly and humanラdoesnot divide th巴womanash巴rtravel"
to Palestin巴would.Stevens writes that there is no need for her to look abroad" for divinityラpsychologicallyand physically. The idea can be noted as a revision of Self‑ Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson when he says， in the so‑titled essay，let us not rove; let us sit at home" for God is h巴rewithin" (272). This invitation by Stevens allows the woman to give her bounties，" what the OED has as goodness shown in giving，" no more to Passion" of Christ. Inst巴a，dStevens suggests that there are passions， moods， grievingsラelationsラandemotions within her to which sh巴should give her bounties." As the woman becomes both the object and the subject of giving， even a conventional term of de‑flowering，" having the sexual meaning of being
depriv吋 ofhervirginityうbecomes"unsubdu巴delations when the forest blooms."
By showing that divinity may dwell in her， Stevens 1巴adsthe woman to say no"
to his question，shall our blood fail?" and "yes" to仕lequesti
、
o弘
hallthe earth seemall of paradise that we shall know?" If th巴womanfollows this t巴achingof Stevens on this Sunday morning， he may offer the young woman， in the s巳venthstanza， a song that may answer to the hank巴ringfor hymns" which that high‑toned old Christian woman likely fails to agree to:
Supple and旬l'bulentラaringofmen Shall chant in orgy on a summ巴rmorn Th巴irboisterous devotion to the sun， Not as a god， but as a god might be， Naked among them， like a savage source. Their chant shall be a chant of paradis巴，
Out oftheir blood， r巳turmngωthes防;
And in their chant shall enter， voice by voice， Th巴windylake wherein their lord d巴lights， The trees， like serafin， and echoing hills， That choir among th巴mselveslong af元日:rward. They shall know well the heav巴nlyfl巴llowship Ofmen thatp巴rishand of summer morn And whenc巴theycame and whither they shall go The dew upon their feet shall manifest. (55胆56)
An orあんaccordingto the OED， entails S巴cr・巴trites or ceremonies practiced in the
Modern Sunday School 37
worship of various gods of Greek and Roman mythology;巴sp巴ciallythose practices conn巴ctedwith the festivals in honour of Dionysus or Bacchusラorthe festival itselfラ
which was c巴lebratedwith ex佐avagantdancing， singing， drinking， etc." The chant St巴V巳nspres巳ntsis sung in a circ1e. 1t differs企omthe hymns that紅esung in the chancel， a separated section next to the nave of昌church，and dedicated to the semi‑ human" divinity of Christ. Moreover， the song of Stevens is performed by supple and turbulent" men that perish." Such notion recalls another orgy，" perhaps not to th巴
mind of the woman， at least to Stevens himself and his readers who are aware of th巴
established imagery ofthe preceding poets.2 It is "Song ofMyself' by another figur巴
with divinity within，Walt京市i伽mn，akosmos， ofManhattan the son" who is [t]urbulent， fieshyラsensual，eating， drinking， and breeding" (210). Throughhis own voic鳥羽lhitman smgs:
Voices of seX!巴sand lusts， voices vei'ld and 1 remove th巴veil， Voices indecent by me c1arified and transfigur' d.
1 do not press my fingers across my mouth，
1 keep as delicate around the bowels as around the head and heart，
Copulation is no more rank to me than death is. (211)
Though Whi位lanand Stevens share the attitude towards the holy hush，"
Stevensラaman of the post‑transcendental generationラcastshis point of view aside
仕omthe grass" ofWhitman. That is to say， St巴vensevolves out ofWhitman's diction with the last line of seventh sta田 a: thedew upon their feet shall manifest." Stevens'
a枕巴mptmay be to go beneath the dew." Aside from the examination of Stevens' attempt， for nowラletus linger a while to see Stevens' attempt toextravagate" Whitman since Whitrnan， like any other mortals， has had his time. Stevens writes in the fifth stanza:
Although she [Death] s佐ewsthe leaves Of sure obliteration on our paths，
The path sick sorrow took， the many paths 明弓leretriumph rang its brassy pl立 術 院orlove Whisp己記da little out oftendern路 島
She makes the wil10w shiver in the sun For maidens who were wont to sit and gaz巴
Upon the grass， relinquished to their fi巴巴t.(55)
Whitman， as he sung in Song ofMyself，" was already in on巴ofthe graves with the beauti白1uncut hair" (193) of grass when Stevens compos巴dhis poem. The ag巴
Stevens lives is the time wh巴nth巴 leaves，"or pages， ofWhitrnan's work have be巴:n strewn. It is the time wh巴nthe grass" is relinquished" to the maiden's feet." Unlike Whitman who conducted a meditation from the grass then u抗ぽ巴d [t]hesmallωt sprout shows there is really no death" (194)， Stevens il1ustrates the shivering willow in the sun， confronting Death. Unlike Whitrnan who uttered th巴 brassyphras，ピand love [...] out of t巴nderness，"Stevens offi巴rshis young woman Harmonium， an instrun1巴ntwith which to play a chant of paradise" if she may.
The song Stevens offi巴rs，notably， is "a chant ofparadise" [emphasis mine] and not the absolute chant. A ring of men who commits to this orgy of Stevens appears to
Modern Sunday School 39
be aware of this. The sun they devote themselves to， for example， is not God or the god. It is just as a god might be"‑one of the possible ways of seeing the sun. Likewise， St巴venswrites in Ad，α~gia: “Th巴 finalbelief is to believe in a fiction， which you know to be a fictionラtherebeing nothing else. Th巴exquisite仕uthis to know that it is a fiction and that you believe in it willingly" (903)
To Stevens' dismay， however， such an orgy dedicated to "a god might be，" and with the heavenly fellowship [o]f men that perish，" does not satisfシtheyoung woman:
She says， 'But in contentment 1 still feel The need of some imperishable bliss.' (55)
This need of the woman is understandableラgiventhat she may be used to the teachings of the church which are based on the Biblical d巴SC11ptionssuch as， to state an巴xample: this corruptible shall have put on incorruption， and this mortal shall have put on immortality，社lenshall be brought to pass the saying that is written， Death is swallowed up in victory [，...] the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15.54‑5乃.
As a response， Stevens declares:
Death is the moth巴rofbeauty; hence企omher， Alone， shall come fulfilIment to our dr巴ams And our desires. (55)
We have already seen that the idea of the age of mere human divinity， judging from the historical examination of Stevens， shall be fuIly associated with the earth and the mother. Two important features are now associat巴dwith the idea of death. In factラ death is an inevitable fact in the life w巴leadon earth. As Stevens sings that from death
alone comes fulfillment to our dreams and our desires，" the power of death is depicted as greater也 知thatof human beings. For instance， those oranges which the young woman finds pleasing are one such example of our daily desires. Without chang巴，
which involves the death to a former state ofbeing， no oranges ripen to be enjoy巴don a Sunday morning
III
Th巴questionthe woman is now invit巴dto face by Stev巴nsis how she d巴alswith this change， one of the most dramatic fl巴aturesof lifi巴ラcalleddeath. Does she find th巴
rub" there and wmce町?Finally，ラStevensstatesラinthe sixth stanza， a song that leads to a possible agre巴mentwith his women， widowed high‑toned and complacent low‑ ton巴d:
Death is the mother of beauty， mystical， Within whose burning bosom we devise Our earthly mothers waiting， sleeplessly. (55)
Ther巳lationshipb巴tweenhumans and d巴athStevens suggests is familiar to the c1assic structure of God and humans. In other words， humans stand within the realm ofDeath and experience individual deaths. Stevens sings th巴songof earth as the song of death， owing to the ro1e ofthe poet. Emerson， whose works the young Stevens was acquainted with as well as h巴wasacquainted with the Bible，3 states the role ofthe poet on earth， or inNature" in the Emersonian dictio ，nin his essay tit1ed "The Poet":
She [Nature] makes a man; and having brought him to r脚 age，she wi11 no longer run the risk of losing this wonder at a blow， but sh巴detaches
Modern Sunday School 41
合omhimanew s巴1f，that the kind may b巴safefrom accidents to which the individua1 is exposed. So when th巴sou1of th巴poethas come to ripeness of thought， she detaches and s巳ndsaway企omit its poems or songs一，‑ati巴arless，sleep1ess， death!ess progeny， which is not exposed to the accidents of the weary kingdom of time: a fearl巴ssラ vivacious offspring， clad with wings (such was the virtue ofthe sou1 out ofwhich th巴ycame)， which carry them fast and far， and infix th巴mirr巴coverab1y into the hearts of men. These wings are the beauty of the poet's soul. (457‑458)
The individua1 man， including the poet， is expos巴dto death on the earthラtheweary kingdom of tim巴."When the poet reaches ripeness， which is du巴tothe changing features of earth‑just like the process thos巴orangeshave gone through to be ripe on a Sunday morning‑he issu巴shispungent"po巴ms.Such songs， according to Emersonラ
ar巴cladwith wings." Stevens 1ikewise， in the 1ast stanza ofSunday Morning，" adapts th巴imageof wings
An ，din the iso1ation ofthe s匂f，
At evening casua1 flocks of pigeons make Ambiguous undu1ations as they sink， Downward to darkness， on extend巴dwings. (56)
As Stevens sings the song of paradi印 刷earthfor mere humans， he seeks no re1ation to the sky that used to have importance with
、 1 h
uman"and seml司human"divinity. Stevens himse1f， as a poet， is like that green cockatoo" in the first stanza or that swallow， in the forth stanzaラwhoworks the consummation" (54) to the changingfeatures of巴arthby its wings. Casual fiocks of pig巴ons"ar巴 theheavenly fel10wship of men that perish，" and together with the winged poet and with its song，th巴ysink downward to darkness，" to the巴arth. Stevens， through eight 瑚nzasof Sunday Moming，" repeats and develops his argument that the only place for humans is this perishing巴arth，"and here we exp巴rienceindividual deathsラorearthly mothers." The sameimag巴towardsdeath is i1lustrated more baldly in Madame La Fleurie，" a poem composed in Stevens'late years:
Weight him down， 0 sid巴‑stars，with the great weightings of the end.
S巴alhim th己re.He looked in a glass ofth巴earthand thoughth巴livedin it.
Now， he brings all that he saw into the earth， to the waiting par巴nt.
His crisp knowledge is devoured by h巴r，beneath a d巴w.(431)
Again， death as the mother devours us beneath a dew" an ，daccording to our Emersonian Stevens， it is h巴rbeauty that ripens the poet for the song of death， ofthis changing world.
Can th巴youngwomanand the high‑toned old Christian woman find that they agre巴inprinciple" in addition to the fact that all seem to b巴hankeringfor hynms"? In the last stanza of Sunday Moming，" this is as far as the young woman follows the teaching of Stevens:
She hearsラuponthat water without soun ，d A voice that criesラ"Thetomb in Palestine
Modem Sunday School 43
Is not the porch of spirits lingering. It is the grave of Jesus， where he lay."(56)
The principle which Stevens and the women， both old and young， hold in common in respectable Sunday poems is that they are all concerned with mortality.4 The high‑ toned old Christian woman who would wince at th巴fellowwho enj oys j azz， the culture of the underground (so to speak)ラmaynot be able to lend her ears to what kind of underground" Stevens has in his mind in 1923. He巴ntertains"the tomb， that isラhe takes it up as an ideaラasmuch as the Christian wom巴nare concerned with the tomb of Christ. Onl)んheconsiders社letomb of Jesus， a fellow man. Harmonium， the very collection which holds A High‑Toned Old Christian Woman，" includes a song of death that represents death not dr巴adfulbut strangely jolly under the title of The Worms at Heaven's Gate，" singing:
Out of the tombラwebring Badroulbadour， Within our bellies， we her chariot.
Here is an eye. And here are， one by one， The lashes of that eye and its white lid. Her巴isthe che巴kon which that lid declined， And， finger aft巴rfinger， here， the han ，d The genius of that cheek. Here are the lips， The bundle of the body and the feet.
Out ofthe tomb we bring Badroulbadour. (40)
The exotic and apparently nonsensical Badroulbadour" is the name of a princess who
負立、uresin the "Story of Aladdin， or the Wonderful Lamp" col1ected in The Thousαnd αnd One Nights; O，r刀'JeArabian Nights' Entertainments.
τ
5
'hough this may appear whimsical， th巴intensionof Stevens appears to rest in the illustration of the secularl1nag己 ofthe consequences of a d品th. Stev巴n8' att己mpt even desecrates the transcendental description of death by Whitman and his grass by going into the soil， andby乱rrangingDar可Ninianunderstanding ofth己負mctionof worms. The body buried underground is devoured by her:町 by th己waitingparent，" through the works of
羽lornlS.
How do we talk today" to proj巴cta better tomorrow with a language inherited f1'o111 yesterdayラknowing.at some point in our lives， a particular t0111orrow nev巴r c0111es? 1n 1599‑160 ，1when Hamlet was w1'itt巴nby William Shakespeare， Hamlet findsthe rub:' a difficultj日inhis meditationto di，己.that appearsぅtohis eyes， somewhat similar "to sleep" and ther己foreto imply th己possibilityofdreaming" ( or consciousness
乱fterdeath)・
To be. or not to b巴ぅthatis the question: Wheth巴r'tis noble1' in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fOltune， Or to take a1'ms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end th己111.To die一寸osleepぅ
No mo1'e; and by a sleep to say we巴nd The h巴art‑acheand thεthousand nahlral shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consu111111alIon D巴voutlyto be ¥vish'd. To die， to sleep:
Modern Sunday School
To sleep， perchance to dr巴am‑aythere's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may com久 羽市enwl巳hav巴shuffiedoff this mortal coil， Must give us pause‑‑ther巴'sthe respect That makes calamity of so long life. (II.1i.57 ‑69)
45
Though Hamletラwhofaces a sea oftroubles，" considers the possibility ofutilizing his bodkin (or dagger) to end the pains that自eshis heir to，" the unknown consequences of physical death bring his thinking to a halt. Hamlet seeks for salvation through death whilethe id巴aof death， for him， occasions tr巳pidationor qualms. For another example， when Hamlet is asked where Polonius， stubbed to death by Hamletラ1Sラhisanswer is deliberately cynical:
King. Now， Hamlet， wh巴re'sPolonius? Ham. At supper.
King. At supper? Where?
Ham. Not where he eats， but where a is eaten. A certain convocation of political worms are e'en at him. (IV.iii.l6‑20)
To be humorous (p巴rchanceto bring beautiful "Badroulbadour" out ofPolonius) is out of the question in this context. Decades later， John Milton att巴mptedto "justiぢth巴
ways of God to m巴n"(1. 26) by publishing Paradise Lost in 1667. Th巴Miltonic description of how the佐ansgressionof Adam and Eve resulted in the denouncement of death， enhances the feature of redeeming Christ. In shortラtheChristian description of death is a major force that has formed lives according to the moral law." B巴託
memento mort or carpe diem，" death has been the force to act against.
Out of this tradition， famously， and infamously to someラCharlesDarwin in仕oducedto the world the alt巴rnativeand secular description ofhow life on earth was form叫withhis book， On the Origin 01争eciesin 1859. Darwin was attracted by the conventionally lowly esteemed worms and by their function of enriching the soil. 6 To borrow the words of Adam Phillips from his Darwin
s
Worms， the a伽mptof Darwin was to "justiぢtheways ofwormsωMan" (47). Darwinラwhostillke巴psmaking somewidows wince，" however， tactfully avoided his direct attacks on Christianity: [1]t appears to me (whether right1y or wrongly) that direct arguments against christianiザ &theism produce hardly any巴ffecton th巳public;&
freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual il1umination of men' s minds， which follows仕omthe advanc巴ofscience. It has， thereforeラb巴en always my object to avoid writing on r巴ligio，n& 1 have confined mys巴lf to sci巴nce.(Darwin Correspondence Pr句ect)
Stevens， when h巴publishedhis first collection ofpoetry， Hα，rmonium， in 1923， could afforddirect arguments against Christianity." The tide was high， thanks to the earthly ph巴nomenacalled history. Once so many had witnessed the booming of underground culture of jazz， the time had evolved from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century， and many homo sapiens， the historical animals， or the bookworms ofhistory books， bore th巴wordsof the day to embrace d巴ath.With his given Christian diction with its heavily death ridden persp巴ctiv巴oflife，Stev巳nsgave a birth to an alternative perspective of death for his fellow men and women. 1n "The Men That Are Falling，"
Stevens illustrates a man who dreams about God and al1 angels as his desiresヲand com巴sto a conclusion: This man loved earth， not heaven， enough to die" (174). We
Modern Sunday School 47
talk today" to proj巴cta better tomorrow with a language inherited from yesterday， knowing and lookingforward to a change.
1. The sununaries of The Little Captain" and Roger Hillman's Honor" deriv:巴企omAlison M. Parker's Purifying America on pages 178‑9 and 183‑4 respectiv吻'.1 refer to these stories， despite the fact that， of present， 1 have no access to the original texts， the better to recapture the image of a high目tonedold Christian woman" in the early twentieth century. These two stories， according to Parker， embody ever‑striving campaign spirit ofthe WCTU even after the death of its President Frances Willard in 1898. The figure of an old Christian woman is a choice ofStevens to claim a change" and such imagery is owing to the changing urban environment of the 1920s. As Michael A. Lern巴rwrites in Dry Mαnhatt，αn， itwas the time when New York witnessed the emergence offlappers." Thes巴wom巳nof the younger generation， as Stevens behaves in his poem， emerged and challenged the仕aditionalnotion Flappers' denial of the conventional ideas included that of the WCTU， that women had always been， and would always b，巴devotees of the dry cause" (171)
2. According to Joan Richardson， Stevens resolved that imagination would save him from 仕1巴har，dcoldぬιtsof his everyday world." This notion led Stevens to com巴toterms with ]usti今inghis image as the s位ongpoet he envisioned himself against that provided by earlier strong poets. St疋:venshad to assert his way as being as viable as ¥¥弓11むnan's，Milton's， Shak巴speare's，or any ofthose others whose shades spoke to him ofwhat they had had to conquぽ andtranscend in order to proclaim their potency" (480).
3. My biographical referenc巴sof Stevens derive from Jo加Richardson's陥
