Poem Response to "Man with a Blue Guitar" by Wallace Stevens

When I first started reading the poem I really enjoyed the way the rhyming scheme was setting up.  It had a bit of a rhythm to it, not perfect, but enough to keep me bouncing through the lines as it went.  It reminds me of some of the more contemporary poetry like Saul Willams or Maya Angelou.  I can see how Stevens’ work fits in the history of poetry.  As I kept reading the poem it started to occur to me that this thing is running on a bit.  And then I looked at the scroll bar.  So I know this may sound like an uneducated or short attention spanned remark, but seriously Wallace Stevens.  Too long, didn’t read.  33 sections to this poem.  It could take up its own book!  I suppose my opinion may be colored by how late it is while I’m writing this.  I’ll try to pick up where I left off and see it from some morning eyes.

 So despite how incredibly lengthy the poem is, every section is packed with imagery and meaning. I think the subject matter of the poem has a fun little twist to it as well.  It starts out like your hearing a story about a man who plays a guitar, but it quickly begins to transcend that little starting piece.  The poem runs at full speed away from that and quickly becomes a cosmic experience.  The blue guitar begins to stretch itself into infinity.

 I liked the poem despite how quickly I was stumped by how long it was.  Stevens’ work feels highly intelligent and even manages to sound a little pleasing to the ear at the same time.