The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm

The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm

By Wallace Stevens

The house was quiet and the world was calm.
The reader became the book; and summer night

Was like the conscious being of the book.
The house was quiet and the world was calm.

The words were spoken as if there was no book,
Except that the reader leaned above the page,

Wanted to lean, wanted much most to be
The scholar to whom his book is true, to whom

The summer night is like a perfection of thought.
The house was quiet because it had to be.

The quiet was part of the meaning, part of the mind:
The access of perfection to the page.

And the world was calm. The truth in a calm world,
In which there is no other meaning, itself

Is calm, itself is summer and night, itself
Is the reader leaning late and reading there.

Summary of The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm

• Popularity of “The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm”: One of the best later poems of Wallace Stevens, “The House was Quiet and The World was Calm” first appeared in 1946 and hit the nerves of the public. Later, it reappeared in 1954 in the Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens. The poem presents the sensory experience of reading through the intersectional relations between different times, spaces, and things. The popularity of the poem, however, lies in its creative presentation of ideas through interlinking verses.
• “The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm” As a Representative of Reading in Quietness: The poet presents a reader on a calm summer night who has immersed himself in the book he is reading. The poet states that the absorption was so perfect and complete that the reader drowned himself in the text or words, leaving the book in the middle of nowhere. In the pervading quietness of the house and the calmness of the environment, the reader feels at peace with the book, its contents, and its text. This perfect absorption in reading dawns the truth upon the reader, which has no substitute in the world. The reader finds his desire, and the world continue as usual.
• Major Themes in “The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm”: Calmness, perfect stillness, and the search for truth in books are three major themes of the poem. The poem presents a reader merging in the book on a summer night. He finds seductive quietness and calmness around him so much effective that he forgets himself as well as the book. In fact, both of these environmental factors motivate him to seek the truth through the words given in the text of the book. Therefore, he continues until he finds himself completely one with the book. The poet has highlighted that epistemic production does not rely solely on reading and books but also on the external environment and its motivating factors. Therefore, the poet ends the poem with the explanation that when the truth is calm, it means everything is all right.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm

Wallace Stevens has demonstrated his skill in using various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “The house was quiet and the world was calm” and the sound of /o/ in “Was like the conscious being of the book.”
2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /m/ in “much most.”
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “The summer night is like a perfection of thought” and the sound of /s/ in “The house was quiet and the world was calm.”
4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

Wanted to lean, wanted much most to be
The scholar to whom his book is true, to whom
The summer night is like a perfection of thought.
The house was quiet because it had to be.

5. Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. This poem shows the irony that truth is calm, as if it is a personification or has the attribute of the reader or the book or even of the world itself.
6. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Wallace Stevens used imagery in this poem, such as “The words were spoken as if there was no book”, “The summer night is like a perfection of thought” and “And the world was calm. The truth in a calm world.”
7. Simile: It is a figure of speech in which a direct comparison is made between objects that are different in nature with the word like or as such as “The summer night is like a perfection of thought.” It shows how the summer night seems complete as a complete thought. In other words, the summary night has been compared to a night.
8. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as book, world, house, and truth to signify ideas and different contexts.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The House Was Quiet And The World Was Calm

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Couplet: A couplet has two verses, no matter whether they rhyme or not. This poem shows the use of couplets.
2. Diction and Tone: Diction means the type of language, and tone means the voice of the text or poem. The diction in this poem is simple but twisting, and the tone is innocent and pedantic.
3. Free Verse: It means writing verses without any rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. This poem is a free verse poem in couplets.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the reading and its meaning.

The quiet was part of the meaning, part of the mind:
The access of perfection to the page.