Stevens wants the reader to be able to see the pears in the mind's eye and to do this he uses strong, descriptive language, but he also does this to express the point that language also has the ability to paint a picture. He begins this poem by negating the readers' initial view of a pear. Stevens ends the poem using harsh language. He has attempted to strip the reader of their image of a pear, and slowly re-builds it only to state at the end of the poem, that the reader is still unable to see the pear as they would like. Whether we are viewing a sculpture, painting or actual pear we are still forced to use language to describe it.
Language becomes the ultimate form of art.
Humans are forced to use language to interpret the world around them, whether it be a painting, sculpture, song, or feeling. Humans are unable to look at a pear and simply take in its image. People associate it with what they know a pear to be, the textures, tastes, and smell come forth when the word is mentioned. People are unable to simply view the pear as they would like because language, while it encompasses all other art forms, is the only medium we can use to describe and understand what we see. People usually consider an artist to be someone who paints a picture, or creates a sculpture, but rarely do people look at a writer and define them as an artist.