Close Reading of Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro"
Ezra Pound was part of the Imagism movement that specialized in the the recreation of images through simplistic diction. Pound's poem "In a Station of the Metro," utilizes such simple yet deep word choice. The first line include,"The apparition of these faces" where apparition takes on the importance of discussion in the first line. Apparition, in this case, ties in nicely with the concluding part of the poem "Petals" in a way where these contrast each other. The word "apparition" has a meaning related to that of specters where as petals are closely related to freshness and the coming of spring. Both these words including "crowd" find themselves at the pinnacle of importance because these words do not roll off the tongue like the others and takes time to read. By first introducing a ghost-like appearance followed by a scene of beauty, the tone changes from being a serious and dark environment to one that has a shed of light in it. Since "crowd" is in between these two other words, it is to emphasize the connection people take toward the different outlooks of not only the poem but the theme of viewing this scene as one that is dismal or viewing it as refreshing and waiting to blossom.
Furthermore, the enjambment of the first line going into the second indicates the transition between the people, their location, and where the reader is being transported. At present, the people being mentioned are at the metro as says the title. Then, the first line is followed by focusing on the single word "crowd." Now being isolated from the previous line, this word is on top of this last line as if the "crowd" were the petals themselves on top of the "bough" just as the poem mentions. The usage of enjambment allows for the connection of "crowd" and "petals" simply because they are not only used close to each other but because enjambment allows for the focus of these two words independently from the rest of the poem. Therefore, because of enjambment, the reader can visualize the metro location with the first line and with the enjambment focuses on the crowd and links it to petals on a branch.
Finally, if we notice how the word "crowd" is left alone, it is in a way not like apparition being seen at the metro nor as petals. It has distinction. Sure, the crowd can compare to being both or being neither for it is isolated. It may choose if it wants to be one of them but can not at the same time. While the crowd is in itself a crowd filled with people, the faces that are visible can be happiness to some and ghosts to many others. One way to explain how the crowd can be interpreted differently is by how the first line takes more time to read than the last. They are read at different paces because the last line has more fluidity than the first The rhythm of the first is choppy just like how the crowd always appears, distant and dull ,yet when the last sentence proceeds, it proceeds so smoothly due to the alliteration of "black bough." The petals much like the sentence are gone quickly just like how people viewing the crowd may appreciate the people they see but all happens quickly.
I like how you used every aspect of the poem to analyze it. You used the diction in order to form an image, showing us how certain words, which at first don't seem related, are related to one another which in turn add deeper meaning into the two lined poem. You also use the way the poem flows from one line to the other and how certain words are being said. I like how you used the idea of enjambment to back up your perspective of the poem, although I didn't like how much you kept using the word enjambment over and over again in the second paragraph. You end the analysis very smoothly, talking about the rhythm and fluidity of the poem. Although I was confused somewhat throughout the entire analysis, reading it again as a whole made it seem a bit clearer than before.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of the poem is really interesting and different from others that I've read, especially with the focus on the word "crowd" as a crucial point around which different views of the world/people revolve. Because you focus so heavily on the location of that word in the poem, it would have helped to quote the whole poem, or at least give more context because without the poem in front of me, I got confused at a few points. The detail in your analysis is really nice, and adding in the poem could clarify and strengthen any points where it starts to feel jumbled.
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