One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
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I think this is an existentialist poem on the absurdity of human beings. How it is our condition to no be able to see clearly, to see beyond. "One must have a mind of winter... and have been cold a long time... not to think of any misery in the sound of the wind... Which is the sound of the land."
The verses "Full of the same wind / That is blowing in the same bare place." Signifies the never ending cycle of life, and monotonous existence of humans.
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
This verses express the human condition. A man listening in the snow for the sound of the land (misery of the world), but because we are nothing, This is the existentialist view of the poem, we are nothing, and because we are nothing we behold nothing.
Beholds / Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
We are so mundane and meaningless that we fail to see the greater scheme of our existence, which basically falls into "nothing." We cannot see beyond from what is placed within our lives. So ignorant are we that we cannot see Nothing that is not there.
But we do see things that are nothing. Every earthly object we can behold it, but without effect, since it is nothing. It has no transcendence whatsoever.
A wonderful poem... and I thought that I didn't like Wallace Stevens. -
Winter is well described in the lines of this poem. Good flow and wonderful images created through these words. Enjoyable to read. Glad to get the cahnce to read this poet's work.
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After reading this poem several times, it does say lots. It is about the beauty of not only snow, but of the world; this beauty is missed by those who think all has no point in life.
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Masterful piece of work, and he painted us a picture upon his canvas of freezing cold weather after the snow. Threw the eyes of a snow man....
novy
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the nothingness of melting snow.. the everything of nature...
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From guest Dead Kennedy Rolls (contact)
This poem is not about snow or a snowman. No, it is about a man, no one in particular, who has a "mind of winter." Today in my English class, we finished Macbeth, and also referred back to his first soliloquoy in which Macbeth states: "Nothing is but what is not." I thought that this was very cynical, almost existential, definitely nihilistic. I said so, and this sparked a discussion in which "The Snow Man," was eventually dug out and read aloud. I read this poem last year for Advanced English, so I know a little bit of what it is about. It is about nothing. The snow, which is beautiful, could not be viewed in the minds of men who think that everything is pointless, those men cannot truly see beauty, they are nihilists. I absoliutely adore the last lines of this poem: "And, nothing himself, beholds nothing/That is not there, and the nothing that is." I go over this part in particular again and again in my head, and I always find something different out each time. I also love the alliteration devices used in this poem, who one can definitely see the winter and the shining of the sun on the glistening snow, especially if you have ever been through a Maine ice storm, like me. Listen to the language: "Crusted/shagged/glitter". These sounds echo the sounds of the thin layers of ice on twigs, breaking as the wind blows over their slick surfaces. I love that. Wallace Stevens, then, being a business man and everything, was casually observing the winter here, I think, when he stumbled across a subtle piece of genius. -
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ei.. this is one cool poem.. it has a very deep and profound meaning.. it gives you different kinds of sensations.. by the language used in the poem.. this is one poem everybody should look forward to read. it is worthwile -
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This is a fine poem about winter in many regards. From cold feet to frozenness in general one becomes aware of perhaps the noumenon;the tree standing in the forest aspect for-itsef, of the poem's conclusion.
It is philosophically interesting.
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