How Does Wallace Stevens Use Metaphors In Gubbinal

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In the poem, Gubbinal, Wallace Stevens uses a variety of metaphors to display the beauty of a world missed by those of a negative outlook. The positive speaker lists the sun as a strange flower, a whimsical idea that is watered down by the negative individual. The tuft of jungle feathers, bright like a tropical bird, and the shining eye of an animal, are metaphors for the brilliant sun. The savage fire represents the sun’s own intense flames, and the seed is the energy given by the sun to the earth. In the eyes of the negative and narrow-minded second individual, these things mean nothing beyond their physical appearance. To the positive speaker, however, they hold symbolism for the sun that supports our world.

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