In Wallace Stevens’ “Sunday Morning,” the author uses juxtaposition and allusion to address the subject of Christianity in an opposing theme in comparison to Eliot’s “The Waste Land.”
Unlike “The Waste Land” that hints at a deteriorating humanities need for salvation through Christianity, “Sunday Morning” is an argument against Christianity. It focuses on nature rather than religion and compels the concept of living in the moment. It seeks to reaffirm the position that sensual pleasure surpasses any happiness gained from religion. Unlike Eliot’s short story, which endorses a need to return focus to Christian beliefs, Stevens impedes the reader to dismiss the beliefs of Christianity and look to nature for ultimate happiness.
“Why should she give her bounty to the dead? …
Shall she not find in comforts of the sun,
In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else
In any balm or beauty of the earth,
Things to be cherished like the
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Stevens applies juxtaposition through the images of the sun and absence of sound to illustrate his points on Christianity. He associates the natural world with the warmth of the sun, as seen with the woman enjoying her leisurely morning at home in the beginning. The sun returns in stanza seven as the speaker personifies his pagan vision in his description of a ring of men chanting “in orgy on a summer morn.” Stevens links an absence of sound to Christianity, suggesting that those mythological voices do not carry into present realities. He reinforces this sense of absence when the woman hears a voice that tells her that no spirits linger in Jesus’ tomb. The vibrant colors of nature are juxtaposed with dark ancient sacrifices, ceremonies of blood. This cluster of images reinforces the speakers’ premises that Christianity is a dead religion that can no longer offer contentment and