ABSTRACT
That Stevens was influenced by Santayana has been often enough affirmed.1 The pages which follow attempt to delineate the extent of this influence. There can be no doubt that Santayana was a benign presence in Stevens’ literary career, from early to late. Yet Stevens was too autonomous a self to have been dependent on Santayana. Rather it is a question of cultural accord, the smile-not quite the shock-of recognition. Santayana is not Stevens’ progenitor, but he is a memorable and fairly constant source. The connection between them was real enough for Stevens to have diverged from this source, and, of course, in the matter of poetry, to have transcended it.
