Shmoop - Sunday Morning by Wallace Stevens

Lines 1-5
Complacencies of the peignoir, and late
Coffee and oranges in a sunny chair,
And the green freedom of a cockatoo
Upon a rug mingle to dissipate
The holy hush of ancient sacrifice.

• First things first: what's a "peignoir?" Well, you can check a picture of one in our "Photos and Pics" section, but, basically, it's like a pair of fancy pajamas - a long, comfy nightgown for women.
• OK, now we can begin.
• "Complacencies of the peignoir, and late" - stop right there. You've just reached one of the craftiest line breaks in all of English poetry.
• Stevens chops the sentence off right in the middle, at one of the most awkward points possible, yet the line sounds like exactly what it's supposed to mean. The line break comes "late" because you would normally expect it after the pause of "peignoir," but instead we get part of the next phrase. It's a lazy morning, and everything is running behind - even the poetry.
• Then, the next line begins "coffee and oranges," and we're wondering what on earth "late coffee and oranges" could be. We look back at the title and remember how people often don't eat breakfast until 10 or 11 o'clock on Sundays, and we think, "Ah, it must be late in the morning."
• Indeed, it's late in the morning, and a woman is enjoying a leisurely, late breakfast in a chair out in the sunshine.
• The morning is full of happy things, or "complacencies," like coffee, oranges, and the warm sun.
• How do we know it's a woman? Because she's wearing the "peignoir" we described above.
• But, what's up with this "cockatoo," and why is it referred to as a "green freedom?" This is a poem where a lot of lines don't make sense until you read past them, and the cockatoo line is a good example.
• A cockatoo is an exotic pet bird, like a parrot. This one happens to be green. But, is it a real bird, or is it just a pattern woven "upon the rug?" We think it's a real pet bird hopping around on the rug, but there's no way to be sure.
• In general, though, she feels a sense of "freedom" at being able to do whatever she wants this morning and not having to, say, go to church. It's as if she's saying to herself, "I don't care what day it is - if I want to sit here and think about the cockatoo on my rug, I'm gonna do just that."
• So, let's put this all together. The woman is having a late breakfast and thinking about all the nice things around her. When all these things combine together, or "mingle," in her mind, they help weaken, or "dissipate," the sense of obligation she might otherwise feel.
• What kind of obligation? "The holy hush of ancient sacrifice."
• Hm. The title of the poem is "Sunday Morning," so what kind of "holy" sacrifice could she be thinking of? Ah, yes, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in Christianity.
• If it weren't for all the small pleasures around her, she might be weighed down by thoughts about Christianity. Everyone else is at church, and here she is, relaxing outside in the sun.
• The word "sacrifice" hints that it might even be Easter morning, when people would be most likely to think about the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• It's important to get a handle on how the poem begins, because these five lines are the key to understanding the 115 lines that follow. They include four of the key images that will occur over and over again in the poem - fruit, birds, the sun, and the death of Jesus Christ.