“The Idea of Order at Key West” was written in 1934 and is considered Stevens’ most complicated poem. It is both long (being eight stanzas and 56 lines) and in depth.”The Idea …” is in a loose iambic pentameter and is written in free verse, meaning that there is no organized rhyme pattern. The stanzas are a bit confusing because the fifth one is indented a lot after the fourth one. In fact, there is no actual line between them. As complex as it is, the plot of “The Idea…” is rather simple.
The speaker of the poem, a man, is walking down a beach with a friend and hears a woman singing. He muses on how the sounds of the ocean contrast and inspire her voice. He imagines that she is as beautiful as both her song and the ocean. Though he doesn’t actually see the woman’s face, the speaker knows that she is lovely.
As he walks behind her, the speaker notices how her bright, etherial voice compares to the dark sounding sea. To him it is almost as if the ocean was a spirit whose voice they could not hear, but knew was there. For most of the poem Stevens paints a picture of an ocean that is both enchanting and mysterious at the same time. In turn, the woman’s song is made mystical andalluring because of the setting. Though we, the readers, don’t see the woman or hear her song, we experience the transformation that the sea, the city, and the speaker go through. In the fourth stanza the tone of the poem turns darker and the speaker begins to notice things other than the woman, her song, and the ocean. He claims that it was her voice that made the sky clearer and the ocean belonged to her and her song alone. He and his companion realize that the only world for her was the “one she sang and, singing, made.”
In the seventh stanza we learn the name of the speaker’s companion: Ramon Fernandez. He (the speaker) asks Ramon why things looked different after the mystery woman finished her song; her song made the city lights brighter and more enchanting than they were before. At this point we realize that the speaker has had an epiphany.
Some critics say that the speaker’s epiphany was Stevens’ way of showing the importance of art. Without it, and in this case without song, we would never be able to see the world clearly. The woman’s song opened up the speakers eyes to the light of the world around him, and in turn the poem itself opened up our eyes.
WTF is a Proletariat? 
Really?! the little mermaid? so what you’re saying is that the woman described in the poem as art as poetry is also the little mermaid?!
I don’t understand?
It’s a clip of a man who admits that he was affected by a woman’s song. They are also on the beach just like in the poem. The fact that she is a mermaid doesn’t even matter.
I enjoyed the parallels between the poem and the hyperlink. I thought the relationship between the ocean and the woman was interesting given the disconnect. One usually thinks of the ocean as having its own distinct song. I found some rhyme in the second stanza and repetition in the poem gave it a rhythm that made the piece easy to follow. I loved the part about the world the woman created with her song. Despite art having some form, it is a world that is your own.
I believe that the entire poem acts as a metaphor of the beauty of art and the inspiration he gathers from the sea. Perhaps the appearance of the woman singing her song at the beach is a complex metaphor representing the sounds he observed on his walk, and how it was comparable to a beautiful woman singing rather than the ocean waves crashing.
I also enjoyed your link you attached with your analysis.
I really like how you described each stanza with so much detail. Also, I agree with how the speaker compares the woman to the ocean and how he finds her singing voice alluring. And, I think that hyperlink is pretty clever.
It makes sense that the man in the poem may, as you say, actually be hearing a woman’s voice, but I also agree with the comment above stating that the “song” might just be a representation of the ocean waves coming up to shore and the noise of the wind. I can see how the repetition had a big role in this poem, it really illustrated the details put in. This poem gives off a sense of mystery and makes it more alluring to the reader.
Boy, this poem was a difficult read. I had to reread each line just to make sure I could get the gist of what’s happening in the poem. I find it interesting that the whole poem is about the woman’s singing, yet we know nothing about how her look, name, or feelings. We could only guess what she feels through her song.
I really like your analysis of the poem. The hyperlink is most definitely something that is pleasing to hear. This poem really does remind me of this scene in The Little Mermaid. When I was reading this poem, I actually thought of this movie and it somewhat reminds me of the scene that happens before she sings. The sky turns dark and a storm starts to brew and then the prince wakes up to a beautiful girl’s singing. I really like how you went in depth with each stanza and pointed out the connections and comparisons between the singing and the sea. Wonderful!
This poem was kinda hard to read, but it made more sense as I read your post. Your hyperlink is great. When I was reading this, I knew it reminded me of something but I couldnt figure out what. Clicking the link made me picture the scenes in the movie,
While reading the poem I wondered why a description of the woman was not provided. I agree with your last paragraph, and I think that by withholding a description of her physical beauty we focus mainly on her art.