I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling Or just after.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker is undecided between the beauty of sound and the beauty of what is suggested.
- In plain terms
- It is hard to choose between hearing and imagining.
- What can you take from it?
- Appreciate both what is said and what is hinted.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Which is more beautiful, sound or silence?
- What do innuendoes reveal?
Another view
Indecision can prevent deeper appreciation of either side.
More from Wallace Stevens
A man and a woman Are one. A man and a woman and a blackbird Are one.
Permalink to quote #51 O thin men of Haddam, Why do you imagine golden birds? Do you not see how the blackbird Walks around the feet Of the women about you?
Permalink to quote #53 Among twenty snowy mountains, The only moving thing Was the eye of the blackbird.
Permalink to quote #50
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