Ghostlier Demarcations, Keener Sounds' Critical and Musical Studies of the Verse of Wallace Stevens
Date of Award
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Clark, Maribeth
Keywords
Stevens, Wallace, Electronic Music, Synthesis, Poetry, Modernism
Area of Concentration
General Studies
Abstract
This thesis examines the concepts of the �first idea� and �imagined reality� in selected works of the American Modernist poet Wallace Stevens, through critical analysis and music composition. It is divided into three parts: two sections of written work, and a CD containing three �sonic studies.� The poems discussed are �Sunday Morning,� �The Idea of Order at Key West,� and �The Man on the Dump.� The first part defines these concepts in the context of Stevens� body of work, then focuses on the three poems. This part is devoted to interpretation and critical analysis, exploring how the concepts of imagined reality and the first idea manifest and why they are important in the chosen poems, and Stevens� work in general. The second part serves as a bridge between the first and third, examining the importance of sound and voice in the poems, and introducing and describing the corresponding sonic studies. The final section is the audio CD of the sonic studies, which are musical pieces created using various types of digital synthesis, sampling, and sound processing techniques. These pieces are intended to supplement and provide further exploration of the ideas in the poems. With this study I have found that sound, and it�s human manifestation, voice, are vitally important to understanding the ideas that underpin Wallace Stevens� verse.
Recommended Citation
Cox, Christopher Ryan, "Ghostlier Demarcations, Keener Sounds' Critical and Musical Studies of the Verse of Wallace Stevens" (2006). Theses & ETDs. 3628.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3628
Rights
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