Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Wallace Stevens? "Ordinary Women" captures a vivid and enigmatic tableau of transformation and ascension, weaving together themes of escape, monotony, and transcendence through its exploration of women rising from poverty into an ornate and fantastical world. The poem juxtaposes the mundane and the extraordinary, utilizing Stevens? characteristic blending of the real and the imagined.

The poem begins with a striking image of women rising "from their poverty," suggesting a movement away from deprivation and stagnation toward something more vibrant and alive. The phrase "dry catarrhs" evokes a sense of physical ailment and discomfort, while "to guitars" signals a shift into a realm of music and expression. This transition is amplified by the women?s movement "through the palace walls," a metaphorical escape from constraint into a dreamlike space.

Stevens portrays this new world as one of decadence and nocturnal energy. The women "flung monotony behind," embracing an environment imbued with sensory richness and ornate beauty. The "nocturnal halls" and "lacquered loges" suggest a theatrical or performative setting, where the boundaries between reality and artifice blur. The repetition of onomatopoeic sounds like "zay-zay and a-zay, a-zay" mirrors the rhythm of music and speech, emphasizing the heightened and almost surreal quality of this space.

The moonlight, a recurring motif, "fubbed the girandoles," casting a soft and ethereal glow that enhances the scene’s dreamlike atmosphere. The women?s "cold dresses" in the "vapid haze" further contribute to this sense of distance and unreality, their elegance tempered by an underlying stillness or detachment. As they lean out from the window-sills, their focus shifts to the "alphabets" of the heavens—symbols of higher understanding or celestial knowledge. The invocation of "beta b and gamma g" aligns their gaze with intellectual or mystical pursuits, as they "study / The canting curlicues / Of heaven and of the heavenly script." Here, Stevens introduces the theme of language and its role in interpreting the divine or transcendent.

In this elevated state, the women encounter "the marriage-bed," a symbol of union and culmination. However, the tone remains ambiguous. The refrain "Ti-lill-o!" and the observation that "they read right long" suggest both absorption and detachment, as though they are spectators to their own destinies. The gaunt guitarists? continued rumblings ("a-day and a-day, a-day") provide a musical accompaniment to their contemplation, underscoring the ritualistic nature of their experience.

The imagery becomes increasingly ornate as Stevens describes their "coiffures" and the "diamond point, the sapphire point, / The sequins / Of the civil fans." These details emphasize their transformation into figures of sophistication and allure, yet the "insinuations of desire" hint at an underlying tension between the external trappings of elegance and the internal forces of longing and expression. Their "puissant speech" asserts a collective voice, yet it also "cried quittance / To the wickless halls," marking an end to the lifelessness they have left behind.

The poem closes by returning to its opening motif, with the women once again rising "from their poverty." This cyclical structure reinforces the idea of continual escape and return, suggesting that their ascent into the palace and engagement with its mysteries may be transient or symbolic rather than literal. The reversal of "dry guitars" and "to catarrhs" further emphasizes the duality and interplay between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

"Ordinary Women" explores themes of transformation and transcendence through its rich and layered imagery, capturing a moment of escape from the mundane into an elaborate and symbolic realm. The poem reflects Stevens? preoccupation with the tension between the tangible and the imagined, the real and the ideal, ultimately inviting readers to consider the interplay between external realities and inner aspirations. The women?s journey through the palace walls becomes a metaphor for the human desire to rise above the constraints of everyday life and engage with the sublime, even if only fleetingly.

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