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"Depression Before Spring" is a poem from Wallace Stevens's first book of poetry, ''Harmonium'' (1923). It was first published in 1918〔Buttel, p. 226.〕 and is therefore in the public domain. Buttel remarks, "One would not expect such lyrical delicacy from the Imagist use of the spittle of cows."〔Buttel, p. 227.〕 Its finding beauty in seemingly ordinary or earthy physical details puts him in mind of Whitman's "Song of Myself" and the line from its thirty-first canto: "And the cow crunching with depress'd head surpasses any statue". Stevens's concern about the sound of the poem is evident here, as in "The Comedian as the Letter C", where, among other things, he was exploring the different effects of the letter "c" in English. Here he invokes nonsense lines, suggesting the call-and-response of mating birds, to achieve the desired effect. One reason why Stevens might flout Victorian poetic conventions about treatment of spring is suggested by Bates, one of whose themes is the importance of appreciating Stevens the American burgher. He relates an anecdote about Stevens writing to William Carlos Williams, quoting Stevens about the pleasures of a season in Nashville, where he was then staying.
See also "Indian River" for another downbeat take on spring mixed with memorable images. == Notes == 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Depression Before Spring」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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