“He might take habit, whether from wave or phrase,

Or power of the wave, or deepened speech,
Or a leaner being, moving in on him,
Of greater aptitude and apprehension,

As if the waves at last were never broken,
As if the language suddenly, with ease,
Said things it had laboriously spoken.”

— Wallace Stevens

Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction (1942), It Must Be Abstract

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 10, 2022. History

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Wallace Stevens 278

American poet 1879–1955

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“He might take habit, whether from wave or phrase,Or power of the wave, or deepened speech,Or a leaner being, moving in on him,Of greater aptitude and apprehension,As if the waves at last were never broken,As if the language suddenly, with ease,Said things it had laboriously spoken.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Wallace Stevens 278

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“He might take habit, whether from wave or phrase,

Or power of the wave, or deepened speech,
Or a leaner being, moving in on him,
Of greater aptitude and apprehension,

As if the waves at last were never broken,
As if the language suddenly, with ease,
Said things it had laboriously spoken.”