Blog Post 2, Topic 2

Ezra Pound’s In a Station of the Metro encapsulate the entire Imagist movement in fourteen simple words by actualizing its main goal: to use clear, direct language to present an image. This impressive feat is accomplished through Pound’s use of compounding structural elements with vivid imagery to create a multidimensional concrete image. Meaning Pound purposely keeps the poems construction short and simplistic in order to reinforce the minimalist mindset of the Imagist.

Because of the poem's brevity the only structural elements are the title and a single sentence. The title directs the reader by explaining the context of the poem and the subject matter: describing people at the metro. This establishes the initial imagery from which the poem will expand off of through the use of complex sentence construction - joining two separate, but related, ideas together by a semicolon. This construction allows the poem to build on itself by supporting the development of two ideas, while also providing a non-verbal link between the ideas. By not having to waste words on the connection between the sentence fragments, Pound is able to keep the length shorter and the language concise. These unused words then can go to strengthen the two visual images produced in the fragments. The interrelated images expands the poem's meaning by adding additional layers to the initial imagery. The structure also sets the pace and tone of the poem. The first sentence fragment is the longest, containing over half the poems words. This long flowing construction is then juxtaposed with a small choppy fragment. These differences cause a shift in how the poem is read, putting more emphasize on the short sections, as well as changing the tone of the poem from relaxed to more intense.

Switching from examining the length of the descriptions to the actual imagery, Pound incorporates multiple visual representations including industrial, supernatural, and naturalistic elements. The title’s initial imagery of “a Station of the Metro” grounds the poem in modernity, reflecting the everyday city perspective of many. The first sentence fragment, “The apparitions of these faces”, expands on this mundane image by relating it to the spiritual realm. Apparition here has double meanings as both anything that appears as well as supernatural beings, like ghosts. The multiple interpretations of apparitions create multiple meanings by relating the passing faces of people in the metro with mystic beings. This image is then again expanded upon with the second sentence fragment, “Petals on a wet, black bough”, which integrated natural elements. Petals and bough both relate to flora but can be more specifically interpreted as cherry blossom trees. While never directly stated, there are enough visual cues to make this connection because Pound employs precise diction. Because very few trees have black branches and petals, describing the tree based on these attributes is, in effect, a way of describing the specific tree without directly naming it. By employing this technique Pound is able to create a very specific visual image.

And that is where the poem comes full circle: starting off with a concert urban image in the title, expanding into the metaphysical realm for depth in the first fragment, and then closing again on a concert natural image in the last. This curricular imagery coupled with the progressive structure creates a diversified image with multiple layers of definitions and meanings. Accumulating altogether to prove the imagist movement right; a lot can be said with very few words, so choose them carefully.