Wallace Stevens on the Prose of Cash
on Monday, October 28, 2013Money Quotation saying that just as poetry extracts meaning from emotions though language, money extracts a myriad of meanings from our lives. Wallace Stevens said:
“Money is a kind of poetry” — Wallace Stevens
Share the Wallace Stevens Money quote image above on your site:
Short Link to this Quote:
In this quote, Wallace Stevens is drawing a metaphorical comparison between money and poetry. He seems to be suggesting that just as poetry explores deeper themes, evokes emotion and represents imaginative expression, money too can be viewed in a more symbolic, artistic light rather than just as a practical medium of exchange.
Stevens appears to be acknowledging how money permeates human civilization and shapes behaviors, priorities and social structures in a way that reflects the priorities, values and aesthetics of its time. His quote conveys that money, like poetry, can be interpreted on different levels beyond its basic functions to reveal cultural undercurrents and priorities of an era.