Malachi Towle
ENGL-2260-D01
Close Reading 1
Wallace Stevens, “The Snow Man” (1921)
“One must have a mind of winter To regard the frost and the boughs of the pine-trees crusted with
snow”
What does Wallace Stevens mean when he claims that a mind of winter is required to regard all of
winter’s attributes truly? A mind of winter is something that no living creature can truly have, so Stevens
is saying that no living creature can fully appreciate all the little details of winter. The title tells us that
Stevens drew this inspiration by looking at winter through the eyes of a snowman. Why a snowman,
how does this object illustrate Stevens’ point? The snowman has the mind of winter because it was born
of winter. It cannot feel the sting of cold nor does it feel the blistering wind. This absence of feeling
allows the snowman to look at the effects of winter with nothing to distract or divert its attention. How
does this differ from all living creatures? The very nature of all living creatures is first and foremost one
of survival. The living do feel the sting of cold, and the pain of the bitter wind. Their mind is focused on
the struggle of finding shelter, of hiding from winter. These things make it impossible for them to think
about winter without their subconscious minds warning them of winter’s threat. They cannot separate
themselves from the struggle enough to regard the frost as anything but an enemy. One might say, “But
what of the creatures that are made for winter, that are born equipped for the cold?” These creatures
still feel the pain of hunger when winter causes food to be scarce. They are still too preoccupied with
their survival to stop and think about the nature of winter and see beauty in the bleakness. Thus,
winter’s true face is hidden from the living forever, its secret beauty only to be appreciated by those
things that are incapable of thought. We, the living, can only try to imagine, as Wallace Stevens did, that
we are looking through the eyes of those that cannot think, and only then perhaps get a brief glimpse of
winter’s true face.