Much of his work served as an example for other poets and writers of the period. His work was instrumental in the development and advancement of modernist work. In his poem "Of Modern Poetry", Stevens writes about the way poetry should be written and how it is vital for poetry to move from traditional methods to modernist style and how doing so would help the reader understand the contemporary of the era. The first two lines of Steven's poem establish the theme, topic, and tone. Stevens describes the ways in which poetry must conform to changing times and uses the rest of the poem to expound on his first two lines. Stevens believed that poetry should be written about one's personal life, emotions, and mindset; he wanted people to write about how they lived their lives. Stevens believed that poetry “should be the discovery of a satisfaction,” so poetry should be easier to write and understand (Stevens). Poetry must give faith and courage in a cruel and unjust world full of darkness and evil. The poem should be written about how writing poetry gives hope and the beauty of the nature of poetry is shown through that writing. Stevens was writing during the time of World War II and this had a huge impact on his writing because he was writing about how to fill the gaps created by the changing world. In a way, poetry was a kind of medicine to cure someone from the vile world