I enjoy taking long, walks on the beach. <– You know that one cliché men/boys use to describe themselves?

It may be familiar, but not entirely applicable to every man/boy. And while it is not an appropriate description for some, it is a suitable one for Wallace Stevens. Minus the part “on the beach,” Stevens did get pleasure from walking in nature.

Anecdote of the Jar reflects Stevens’ interest in walking through the environment. Even when reading the poem at a literal level, the significance of nature in it is evident. On a deeper level, the poem talks about the prevalence of industrial development occurring in nature. Stevens was probably enthused to write this after walking through the wilderness or maybe even the city (that has occupied the natural world).

“What gems of painting or statuary are in the world of art, or what flowers are in the world of nature, are gems of thought to the cultivated and the thinking.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes

So those walks must be Stevens’ way of collecting those gems.

“Every flower must grow through dirt.”
- Anonymous

My lack of inspiration has driven me to an inflexible hated for writing. My only consistency in this skill is my flagrant regression in it.

I knew I was going downhill when I would erase my printed thoughts, only to find my finished product as a reflection of my initial ideas on paper. Trying to attain “perfection” only taught me how to waste time. I started to see my failures in the success of my peers. The absence of my motivation excited the only thought in my mind: where do you get it?

After reading Flight by John Steinbeck, I noticed the intricate setting he paints with mere words.

“About fifteen miles below Monterey, on the wild coast, the Torres family had their farm, a few sloping acres above a cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean. Behind the farm the stone mountains stood up against the sky. ”
-John Steinbeck

Obviously, his writing was inspired by his own experiences – what he saw, felt, tasted, heard, and smelt.

I guess you can’t entirely lose or get inspiration, you just have it. Maybe inspiration is revisiting a time and reminiscing about a person or place. Despite the form it takes, it is in you… like a flower budding from the earth.

Ugh I know, this site is overwhelmingly pink. The first time you saw this, you most likely perceived me as extremely girly. After all, it is easy to connect characteristics with colors and draw emotion from them. Because colors are so easy to identify particular qualities and feelings with, writers use colors to convey their ideas in a captivating way.

“The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe contain descriptions of silver bells and golden bells. Poe used gold to communicate joyfulness in a wedding scene as well as silver to add to the playfulness of a Christmas season setting. Nathaniel Hawthorne is persistent in mentioning Faith’s pink ribbon throughout his short story “Young Goodman Brown.” According to About.com,

“In some cultures, such as the U.S., pink is the color of little girls. It represents sugar and spice and everything nice.”

Hawthorne emphasized Faith’s goodness and kindness in the way she wore a pink ribbon.

what is the color of your personality?

Surprisingly, The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe was not teeming with pessimism. In the poem, a beautiful literary depiction of Christmas’ bells precedes Poe’s portrayal of wedding chimes. His optimistic tone is like a Christmas present in itself but of course, it just wouldn’t be like Poe to make his work solely all smiles and rainbows. In the poem’s last two stanzas, Poe provides melancholic descriptions of alarms as well as funeral bells.

Edgar Allen Poe’s sudden shifts in attitude throughout the poem demonstrate the message he wanted to communicate about change and life. As Poe described the same element (bells) in dissimilar circumstances (Christmas, marriage, death, etc.), he implied the certainty of change. He also suggested the very tangible stages in one’s existence. For a man who endured countless transitions in his own lifetime, Poe knew what he was talking about. He probably drew from personal emotions to convey feelings within The Bells. Poe did this creatively by using sounds and colors to express particular emotions.

“Change is inevitable. Change is constant.”
— Benjamin Disraeli

Feelings and perceptions change as a person grows in all aspects. People grow from unexpected change. The only thing that doesn’t change is the reality of change.

Despite the overwhelming tragedies in Edgar Allen Poe’s life, he valued love and the many women he felt it for. With Poe’s sensitive nature, it is no surprise that he considered them angels. Ironically, that great love caused him immense pain. Probably his greatest love lost was his cousin/wife Virginia.

We loved with a love that was more than love.
-Edgar Allan Poe

Knowing that Edgar Allen Poe’s work was inspired by personal experiences, this quote probably reflects the relationship he had with Virginia or another woman he cared for. Here’s the thing, I feel compelled to question whether he truly loved those women; I mean he had so many. Maybe that “love that was more than love” in Poe’s mind, was in actuality mere infatuation or loneliness. Answer.com only drove me to doubt even more after reading an article about widowhood.

Men are affected more by widowhood than women. Widowhood is less likely to be anticipated by men, and men are generally more dependent on their spouse for social and emotional support.
- YVONNE D. WELLS; COLETTE J. BROWNING

Edgar Allen Poe needed emotional support and he received that from his women. I think it’s safe to say that the “love” he felt for them was just dependence. In the case of Virginia, I do believe that it was real love. After all, Poe could do more for Virginia (like teach her Algebra and entertain her with the flute) than she could do for him.