Assessing the effectiveness of a method for resolving ambiguity in the poetry of Wallace Stevens

Since the publication of Wallace Stevens' first book in 1923, the critical reception of his work has been characterized by a concern with ambiguity. R. P. Blackmur described his poetry as being comprised of "seemingly impenetrable words or phrases," and Ronald Sukenick noted that, despite the extensive criticism of Stevens' poetry, "its difficulty remains the chief problem.";In acknowledging the ambiguity of Stevens' work, critics have also noted that his central aesthetic preoccupations include the relationship between reality and imagination, the notion of a "supreme fiction," and the nature of the self.;The focus of the research is on the identification and resolution of ambiguities in Stevens' poetry, specifically those related to configurations of self. Criticism of Stevens' poetry over the past two decades, including such studies as Milton Bates' Wallace Stevens: A Mythology of Self and Michael Sexson's The Quest of Self in the Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens have probed enigmatic aspects of the self. Yet, earlier critical studies have not attempted to systematically resolve ambiguities in his work, specifically psychological complexities.;The researcher argues that psychological ambiguities in Stevens' poetry may be resolved by applying concepts from the work of two humanistic psychologists: Abraham Maslow and Karen Homey. Maslow's concepts regarding self-actualization and Homey's related to self-alienation address the ambiguous configurations of the self articulated in Stevens' poetry.;Within the research design, the researcher applied Wolfgang Iser's notions of textual "gaps," to the poems selected in order to identify ambiguities. Readings were also selected of literary critics who discerned ambiguities in their interpretations of these poems, including psychological complexities.;The method developed included central Maslovian and Horneyan concepts which the researcher transformed into rhetorical strategies for resolving ambiguity in poetry. The method was then applied to resolving the ambiguities identified and these readings were compared to the readings of the literary critics in order to assess the effectiveness of the method in terms of resolving these ambiguities and providing richer readings of Stevens' poetry.