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Modernist Poetry: Ezra Pound's Imagist Manifesto

Pound wanted to liberate poetry from restrictive rhythms and use free verse, focusing on juxtaposition of images and economy of words. The poetry reflected a European style, influenced by Futurism, Dadaism, and Symbolism, delving into themes of history, myth, and urban decay. Utilizing fragmented culture and self, the poets projected ancient myths onto modern landscapes to rationalize chaos. Foreign references and quotations added depth to the poems, challenging traditional perceptions of culture.

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Modernist Poetry: Ezra Pound's Imagist Manifesto

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  1. Modernist Poetry

  2. Ezra Pound’s IMAGIST MANIFESTO 1913 • Wanted to liberate poetry from restrictive rhythms + to use FREE VERSE • Concentrated on JUXTAPOSITION of IMAGES+ on ECONOMY of WORDS • Poetas a MEDIUMnot a personality • Importance of FORM • Replaced the content with a new ALOGICAL FLUX of THOUGHTS+SENSATIONS • EUROPEAN in STYLE+SENSIBILITY, revealing influences from FUTURISM, DADAISM +SYMBOLISM among other European traditions

  3. Same THEMES in poetry and prose HISTORY + MYTH. Joyce’s character S. Dedalus saw history as a nightmare. M. poets saw HISTORY as MEANINGLESS CHAOS One way to “rationalize” chaos was to USE MYTHS. Ancient myths could be successfully projected onto a modern landscape to create a profound statement of meaning CITY. M. poets rejected pastoral themes replacing them with urban ones. London as the image of spiritual, social+cultural decline of the interwar years

  4. FRAGMENTATION of CULTURE Elements of past and foreign literature entered the poem in the form of REFERENCE or QUOTATION. These resemble fragments or clues to meaning, difficult for the average reader. Foreign or classical references + quotations were juxtaposed with common, modern speech. So this help the idea that “culture” was a confusion of tiny pieces

  5. FRAGMENTATION of SELF “I” was replaced by a fragmented, unstable, unreliable SELF, not dominated by “will”, but by instinct

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