Presence an Absence

Wallace Stevens reflects on the nature of human as well as universal or divine presence in “The Snow Man.” The poem is set in a desolate winter landscape, absent any discernible markers of human presence such as roads, bridges, or buildings. The scene is only populated by spruce trees, juniper trees, and pine trees. These are largely covered in snow and ice, fixing them physically in a pose that invokes an absence of motion.

The human subject who is obliquely referenced in the poem is also imagined as integrated with this static, desolate landscape. This imaginary is established in the first stanza of the poem: “One must have a mind of winter / To regard the frost and the boughs / Of the pine-trees crusted with snow” (1-3). The notion of a human mind characterized by a platonic ideal of winter suggests a new version of...