I Am The Walrus

 So, to be perfectly honest, when I first cracked open "The Bible" and set my eyes upon Earthly Anecdote, I felt completely and utterly overwhelmed. As I continued reading the poems of Wallace Stevens, my overwhelmed feelings grew and grew until I began to wonder if I was crazy to even think I had what it took to be in this class. However, yesterday, when we discussed the sound of words and looked at Violet's story, I took a completely different approach to Stevens' poetry. I couldn't help but think of "I Am the Walrus" by The Beatles (technically written by John Lennon). The song makes no sense whatsoever using sounds such as "goo goo g'joob" and entirely made-up words (crabalocker). For some reason, though, I have never had any issue understanding this song. It is almost abstract in its meaning; in fact, it seems as though the whole point is that it has no meaning. The meaning I have always gotten from it has come in the form of feelings and images I have conjured while listening to the song. The combination of the music and the sounds of the words create this world in my mind that cannot be entirely explained, but I have always found this deep, strange connection to this song. I feel as though I have fallen into the mind of Lennon as I listen and together we go on this journey through his imagination.

I have been trying to keep this in mind as I read the poems of Wallace Stevens. Instead of trying to find the metaphor in his work and decipher an actual physical meaning, I read it with only the abstract in mind. What feelings does this string of words bring to the surface? What does my inner eye see? What pictures does he paint with his words? Instead of trying to figure out what he means, I try instead to hear how he wanted to be read. How was he intending his poem to sound? His words are music, and I intend to read them as such. I have found a much great appreciation and understanding of Stevens reading his work as such.

I Am the Walrus

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
I'm crying.

Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody tuesday.
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.

Mister city policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row.
See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run.
I'm crying, I'm crying.
I'm crying, I'm crying.

Yellow mother custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye.
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,
Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.

Sitting in an english garden waiting for the sun.
If the sun don't come, you get a tan
From standing in the english rain.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob goo goo g'joob.

Expert textpert choking smokers,
Don't you think the joker laughs at you?
See how they smile like pigs in a sty,
See how they snied.
I'm crying.

Semolina pilchard, climbing up the eiffel tower.
Elementary penguin singing Hari Krishna.
Man, you should have seen them kicking edgar allan poe.
I am the eggman, They are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob goo goo g'joob goo goo g'joob.
Goo goo g'joob goo