"Metaphors of a Magnifico" speaks volumes about the process of reading. It could be construed to represent the neurological processes that a reader undergoes whilst taking in information bit by bit. Beginning with the metonymical and concrete, to the abstract and metaphorical (a realm of consciousness in which the "meaning" as he calls it, "escapes", and is then replaced with associations, images, connotations etc.), at which point the signifiers lose attention to the signified, and the author drifts into the realm of metaphor, as humans are associative by nature.
I think that the numerous ellipses could possibly represent the author reading on, the completion of ideas that we are not fortunate enough to obtain. However, the repetition of the phrases which we are allowed access to are what the author's mind continues to return to and analyze. Does that make any sense? When I read this poem, I feel like I am experiencing the author reading it in it's original context, however unreal that may be.
The images with which we are left at the end of the poem, are quite evidently what is to be remembered. Why Wallace Stevens is drawn to these phrases will be forever unknown to us, but in merely attempting to make his associations and grasp his connotations brings on abstract relations to the words in our own minds. In other words, we are just as informed on the "meaning" of the context of this poem as Stevens is. As discussed earlier in the chapter, the author-ity lies in the mind of the perceiver, or at least one can theorize that being the case.
3 comments:
I think it's interesting that, already, with only a few posts, we have two readings, yours and my own, that are so dramatically different. They're even polar opposites. I look forward to talking about this one in class.
Are you proposing that perhaps the author is seeking the signified? Why might that be problematic?
I suppose I'm saying that, moreso that readers generally seek the signified. When we see faces and images, our minds instantly attempt to make signified connections-we try to find meaning in them. I suppose this can be problematic in conveying a deliberate thought or tone-but is that the point? I'm looking forward to discussing this as well.
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