An Analysis of Wallace Stevens' "Sunday Morning" Poem

Transcendentalism, a spiritual, philosophical, and literary movement, flourished during the mid-nineteenth century in response to a major disagreement within the Unitarian Church. Boston ministers at the time thought that the church was too conservative, so they established a new philosophy honoring individual wisdom over religion. Although this philosophy, Transcendentalism, received its inspiration from European Romanticism, it became a unique American movement emphasizing individualism. Indeed, with the rampant materialism stemming from the Industrial Revolution, many Transcendentalists encouraged individuals to seek a solitary and harmonious relationship with nature. Wallace Stevens, heavily influenced by this idea, incorporated Transcendentalism into his works. Having an unusual profession for an acclaimed poet, Stevens had a day job as an insurance lawyer at the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, choosing to write in his spare time. This position required Stevens to travel constantly across the United States, and in 1915, he visited Florida on business. The sublime, peaceful scenery impressed Stevens and influenced his view of nature as a true divine beauty. Merging the religious aspect of Transcendentalism and Florida’s panorama together to produce his famous poem, Stevens wrote “Sunday Morning” to critical acclaim the same year. In this work, he focuses not only on the religions of humanity but also on its pointlessness in the natural world. “Sunday Morning” does indeed destroy the illusion of religion and reiterate that humans can find immortality in Earth’s beauty.
In his quest to destroy religious illusions and talk about immortality, Wallace uses a very predictable and deliberate format for his poem. With eight s...

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...ars about a cockatoo, which symbolizes the woman’s leisure time spent outside of church. After further reading about the birds in “misty fields,” which symbolize ultimate happiness, the reader fully comprehends the marvels of nature. Clearly, Stevens uses both symbolism and imagery to illustrate how humans overlook nature, and like the reader, the woman in the poem starts to believe that nature, not religion, gives meaning to her life.
With its clever use of poetic structures, thought-provoking literal meanings, and awe-inspiring figurative language, Stevens’ “Sunday Morning” provides a riveting analysis of Death as an agent of change and nature as a beautiful mother. Yet most of all, the poem offers the reader another path to happiness, and by following Stevens’ thoughtful advice, the reader might just live a more fulfilling life free from a fear of death.