This
paper explains that the changes of Stevens'
style originated not from gaudy triumphs but from isolated confessions of perceived
defeat and
depression. The author points out that as Steven's aged, his
maturity curbed his poetic excess; a
change of style caused a change in substance and a well-tempered style emerged. The paper relates that Stevens, eventually known for his restless style and imagination, won the 1954 Pulitzer Prize, at age 75, a year before died.