Stevens’s Poetics of Atmosphere in “Sea Surface Full of Clouds”

Bo Ya the qin [zither] player strummed, his thoughts on climbing tall mountains. Ziqi the woodcutter, happening nearby, said, “How splendidly you play! Soaring like the mountains!” Another day, Bo Ya’s thoughts turned to flowing waters, and Ziqi said, “Your qin! It roils and washes like a river!” The two became fast friends, and years later when Ziqi died, Bo Ya smashed his qin and cut its strings. Till the end of his days he never played again because nobody in the world could hear his tone.1