Assignment 9-Eliot Smith

Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock by Wallace Stevens

The houses are haunted
By white night-gowns.
None are green,
Or purple with green rings,
Or green with yellow rings,
Or yellow with blue rings.
None of them are strange,
With socks of lace
And beaded centures.
People are not going
To dream of baboons and periwinkles.
Only, here and there, an old sailor,
Drunk and asleep in his boots,
Catches Tigers
In red weather. 

While many of the poems in Chapter 8 are outright rebellious in tone, Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock by Wallace Stevens differs from the pattern.

The poem starts out by describing a certain setting, houses that are "haunted by white night-gowns."  The author mentions that "none are green, or purple with green rings," etc.  This means that everyone is the same--there is no deviation between the people that inhabit the author's setting.  This idea is furthered by the line "None of them are strange."

There is then a shift in the poem, beginning with the lines "people are not going to dream of baboons and periwinkles."  The author is trying to convey a distinct lack of imagination among the people.  Immediately after, he mentions a couple hypothetical drunk sailors taking part in such imagination (of catching tigers in red weather), presenting the argument that the activity is overlooked in today's society.

As previously mentioned, the piece is not a clearly rebellious one.  Rather, it is more urging in nature.  However, the tone can be interpreted as somewhat rebellious, as the author condemns the current lack of imagination among the people of today's society.  This fits in well with the quote "Poetry is man's rebellion against what he is," as the author voices disdain towards something that is common among humans.