The Idea of Order at Key West

“ The Idea of Order at Key West” Wallace Stevens, a imaginative poet, created a wonderful world of desire in the poem “The Idea of Order at Key West”. Line after line, new perspectives and curious thoughts popped into my head. Stevens creates the desire to want to decipher his puzzle of a poem. Stevens is a poet of many themes and perspectives, which led me to understand why I was coming up with so many different meanings behind this poem. In this particular poem, Key West being the muse, Stevens writes down the keys to the mystery, only to be unlocked if you dig deep into his poem.

However, once unlocked, understanding the passion and mystery with each written word is a whole other activity. The speaker opens up the poem stating that “She sang beyond the genius of the sea. ”Automatically, I am hit with a vision of a women standing on the shore, running away from the water as is grew closer to her toes, laughter being the song the sea couldn’t amount to. The speaker then goes on to say that she was not mind nor voice. Nonexistent? No. This presence was very much alive in the sense of motion. The speaker, draw in by it's “empty... mimic motion”, somehow understands the ovement. Emphasis on there being no physical form, but a being none the less. This possibly gives the speaker a sense of comfort. Being surrounded by a presence the speaker knew, but had a great desire to know more about it. In return, the speaker and company have empathy, constantly hearing a cry. The focus on a feminine figure was very obvious to me in the beginning of this poem. However, as the poem carries along, I am torn between what I think and what Stevens meant it to be. Continuing along, the presence becomes more mysterious. An open book for she was not a mask no more than was the sea.

Water, for the most part, is a transparent substance. It makes sense that the speaker would use this metaphor, being in Key West where the water is crystal. The speaker makes it apparent that the sound is not that of the sea, but of the presence, “The song and water were not medleyed sound”. The speaker starts to clearly separate the presence from the surroundings of Key West. On the other hand, using the surroundings, the speaker defines the presence. Up to this point in the poem, I was sure that the feminine figure he so carefully described was a love of his. A women he longed for, but couldn't have.

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Once I read “ she was the maker of the song she sang”, I changed my mind about who the muse was. It made sense that now, the feminine figure could possibly be a depiction of Mother Nature. A women who controlled the motion of the waves but herself had no motion. She was the cry they knew but was not of there own. The song was not the water, it was the wind as it crashed itself against the water, always pushing against that barrier. Every and all aspect led to this idea that the love was not a love of a woman, but a love for the nature of women itself. The presence, something much larger than im, controlling all of the wonderful things he so desired and felt for. I was so sure about this notion, because I felt reassured by a verse. When the speaker said “it was she and not the sea we heard” I knew I had come across it all. Despite my reassurance, I instantly withdrew that notion when I came upon this verse, “repeated in a summer without end”. If the womanly figure was Mother Nature, then seasons would not be an issue. I was then left to recollect my thoughts. Sound, one of our five sense that allows us to soak up the chirping of the birds, crashing of the waves, and the beating of hearts.

It seems to be the main drive of the speaker. Everything that the speaker explains comes from the song of Key West, the sound of Key West. Not knowing where it is from or what it is, the speaker so infatuatedly talks about a song and cry. I find it really ironic that the speaker creates a sense with the use of a sense. As you read you are painted a picture with the desire to listen to this song as well as ponder about the origin. The song, I believe, creates the desire to be at Key West and gives it life. To the speaker, the song becomes a song of tranquility amongst chaos, it calms him.

The idea of order comes from the sounds that create the song of Key West. Once the song has stopped, the life it sang about trudges on. There is a kind of emptiness to the song, but it moves everyone who listens to it. It creates a connection with the listeners as well as brings their love of Key West to life “And when she sang... whatever self it had, became the self”. This tune could be of their own life or the reason they come to Key West. It definitely paints the picture everyone goes there for. Sadly, when the song is over, it seems as if the love for the West isn't as strong.

When the speaker turns away, the song no longer is a beautiful melody of the ocean, but a cry. The cry, a constant longing of Key West to have visitors and of the speaker to return again. Only during the summer does the speaker visit the Keys. Since he is only able to visit once every year, the need to visit as well as the Keys need for visitors builds up. Both with the longing to reunite, the cry is heard. There is a strong connection with the speaker and Key West. The speaker carefully describes the beauty of the beach as if it were a women. Every hour spent at the beach is precious. As the sun egins to set, the speaker gets an unsettling feeling. Even though he comes back every summer, it is painful for him to leave such a hypnotizing place. As the day comes to an end, the song seems as if it becomes slower. Creating everything that Key West is, as the song comes to an end, so does its surroundings. Fishing boats go back out to sea, the light begin to turn on, and the speaker has to tear himself away from his love. Time is of the essence and in no sense wasted when the speaker visits Key West. “She measured it to the hour”, the song is perfectly measured out between sunrise and unset. This then makes it easier for the speaker to leave the beach, allowing him to go about his daily life. Then there is the mention of another man, Ramon Fernandez. The speaker looks up to him, asking if he knew why the melody was ending. I just came to the conclusion that Ramon was nothing but a man who was along for the ride. The speaker probably just asked him if he was interested in seeing Key West. Ramon has no deep connection with the coast unlike his chaotic friend. Although, he seems as if he is good company. He provides the speaker a chance to express his displacement with the song nding as well as the day coming to an end. Key West as a whole can be interpreted as something desired. Expressed like a love for a women, the beaches of Key West provides the speaker with a peaceful place. He longs for the passion, comfort, and peace that the coast grants him. The possibility arises that the speaker was never able to truly express his love until arriving at the coast. There is no sure reason that the speaker feels such a deep connection with Florida. Maybe he lived there as a child, hearing the sounds of the ocean, wind, and creatures daily. Then when he would come back summer after summer, the sounds and sights hanged much like he did with each passing day. The speaker is constantly going back to a later time when things were as they picture them as a child. The song could represent the passing of time, as the day ended, he came to the realization that the beach was not what it used to be. The beach lifestyle being calm and easygoing, allowed the speaker to feel at peace. So then when the speaker left this lifestyle behind for another one, he realized the chaos was too much for him to handle. Sadly he was not able to return for whatever reason, except once a year, every year when the weather was at its hottest.

A possibility could be that there was a job, family, and or life experience that was calling his name. Something of a forceful nature that caused him to leave. In his absence, the coast cried out for him, desperately trying to bring him back to peace. He did not know the cry was for him at the time, but once he came back, it became real. His love for Key West, for his old life was no longer in his grasp. The speaker could no longer turn back time and enjoy all those years he had flash before his eyes. Another interpretation could be that the need to be that Key West represents some sort of psychical or emotional need.

Something that cannot be fulfilled by every day life. Key West is a tropical place, there are always exciting, fun, and new things to try. It is a freeing place where anything and everything is accepted. It is easy to find yourself in a social acceptable setting. Depending on the person, different settings can be more opening to others. For example, many people go to New York because they are widely accepted. All in all, Wallace Stevens wrote a cavern of a poem. Always going in deeper, seeing new perspectives, and discovering something new. The Idea of Order at Key West could be interpreted into ust about anything for anyone. Stevens so delicately thought out every single detail, making it such a beautiful read. Carefully unwrapping each sentence, I find myself longing to know more. In the end, what Stevens really wanted was an admirer. Someone who craved the words written by him. An adorer who would stop for nothing to know what his next thought would be. What creator doesn't want someone to admire their work ? Creating a vivid picture with every word, Stevens captured the essence of the thirst for love and desire. The Idea of Order at Key West was only just the foot in the door of this new way of writing.

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