EZRA POUND AS A POET-CRITIC: A STUDY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ezra Pound (1885-1972 ) is one of the major makers of modernism in English and American poetry both as a theorist and as a poet. Yet, little is written on him as a poet – critic. He is either assessed as a poet or a critic separately. His critical writings are extensive and are not solely restricted to imaginative literature and poetry. He was a cultural critic as well. Yet, poetry occupies a distinguished place in his writings as he was an ardent seeker of the emancipation of English poetry from the fetters of conventionalism. He sought to understand the nature of original poetry by studying other languages, especially the oriental, like Chinese and Japanese to which he resorts for certain poetic forms like the Haiku with the aim of modernizing the English poetry. Being a scholar of the Romance languages helped Pound to deploy poetic strategies and voices or personae which he borrowed from the Romance literatures of Europe, especially those of the Italian courtly love poets such as Cavalcanti and the troubadours of twelfth-century Provence. The aim of the present study is to explore the polemics of identity of Ezra Pound as a poet – critic and to examine the extent to which he applies his critical theories of poetry into his actual poems. The study shall mainly limit its scope to pre- The Cantos poetry of Ezra Pound as this early poetry is a direct extension of Pound's critical theories of poetry. The study falls into three chapters and a conclusion: Chapter one is introductory, and is divided into two sections; section one , entitled Ezra Pound's Early Poetry: A Progression towards Modernity, gives an account of Ezra Pound's early poetry and his gradual development as a modern poet; section two, entitled Ezra Pound's Literary Criticism and the Development of his Modern Poetics, examines samples from Pound's literary criticism in order to reveal his mentality as a critic, to highlight the sources and the influences which went into the 8 shaping and development of his critical thinking and acumen to examine what influences this development had on his poetry . Chapter two is divided into three sections; section one, entitled Imagism, focuses on Pound's theory of Imagism and seeks to evaluate the application of his Imagist tenets into his own poetic output by shedding light on his 'In A Station of the Metro,' which he published in his Des Imagist: An Anthology and which is considered an exemplary poem in which he put his critical beliefs in practice. An emphasis will also be thrown on some of the poems in his poetry volume, Lustra, which reflect his Imagist and Vorticist preoccupations. Section two, entitled Vorticism, traces the development of Pound's Image into the Vortex, and studies his critical pronouncements concerning this development in his modernist poetics by showing his conceptualization of the Doctrine of the Vortex which he embraced as a way of distinguishing his art from the static, pictorial images that had become associated with Imagism . This section throws emphasis on poems selected from the poetry volume, Personae (1926) which is one of the key texts of modernist poetry and which includes poems from Pound's Imagist and Vorticist phases. Thus, it serves as a record to how a major poet develops. This section also furthers the subject under focus by highlighting the relation between the Chinese written character (the ideogram or pictograph) and Pound's Imagist theory. This serves as an indication that the ideogrammic method which Pound comes to apply in poetic composition is an evidence of his great interest in the cultures of the Far East ( especially Japan and China) whose literatures were key to the development of his own poetry and Criticism. Section three, entitled The Ideogram, features Pound's ideogrammic method which is a development of his vorticism and selects poems as examples of it. Chapter Three falls into two sections; section one, The Concept of the Poet-Critic, addresses the critical definition of the poet-critic in relation to Ezra Pound; section two, entitled ,explores the dual identity of Ezra Pound as a poet and critic to reveal the relation between these two major facets of his career 9 Major among thABSTRACT Ezra Pound (1885-1972 ) is one of the major makers of modernism in English and American poetry both as a theorist and as a poet. Yet, little is written on him as a poet – critic. He is either assessed as a poet or a critic separately. His critical writings are extensive and are not solely restricted to imaginative literature and poetry. He was a cultural critic as well. Yet, poetry occupies a distinguished place in his writings as he was an ardent seeker of the emancipation of English poetry from the fetters of conventionalism. He sought to understand the nature of original poetry by studying other languages, especially the oriental, like Chinese and Japanese to which he resorts for certain poetic forms like the Haiku with the aim of modernizing the English poetry. Being a scholar of the Romance languages helped Pound to deploy poetic strategies and voices or personae which he borrowed from the Romance literatures of Europe, especially those of the Italian courtly love poets such as Cavalcanti and the troubadours of twelfth-century Provence. The aim of the present study is to explore the polemics of identity of Ezra Pound as a poet – critic and to examine the extent to which he applies his critical theories of poetry into his actual poems. The study shall mainly limit its scope to pre- The Cantos poetry of Ezra Pound as this early poetry is a direct extension of Pound's critical theories of poetry. The study falls into three chapters and a conclusion: Chapter one is introductory, and is divided into two sections; section one , entitled Ezra Pound's Early Poetry: A Progression towards Modernity, gives an account of Ezra Pound's early poetry and his gradual development as a modern poet; section two, entitled Ezra Pound's Literary Criticism and the Development of his Modern Poetics, examines samples from Pound's literary criticism in order to reveal his mentality as a critic, to highlight the sources and the influences which went into the 8 shaping and development of his critical thinking and acumen to examine what influences this development had on his poetry . Chapter two is divided into three sections; section one, entitled Imagism, focuses on Pound's theory of Imagism and seeks to evaluate the application of his Imagist tenets into his own poetic output by shedding light on his 'In A Station of the Metro,' which he published in his Des Imagist: An Anthology and which is considered an exemplary poem in which he put his critical beliefs in practice. An emphasis will also be thrown on some of the poems in his poetry volume, Lustra, which reflect his Imagist and Vorticist preoccupations. Section two, entitled Vorticism, traces the development of Pound's Image into the Vortex, and studies his critical pronouncements concerning this development in his modernist poetics by showing his conceptualization of the Doctrine of the Vortex which he embraced as a way of distinguishing his art from the static, pictorial images that had become associated with Imagism . This section throws emphasis on poems selected from the poetry volume, Personae (1926) which is one of the key texts of modernist poetry and which includes poems from Pound's Imagist and Vorticist phases. Thus, it serves as a record to how a major poet develops. This section also furthers the subject under focus by highlighting the relation between the Chinese written character (the ideogram or pictograph) and Pound's Imagist theory. This serves as an indication that the ideogrammic method which Pound comes to apply in poetic composition is an evidence of his great interest in the cultures of the Far East ( especially Japan and China) whose literatures were key to the development of his own poetry and Criticism. Section three, entitled The Ideogram, features Pound's ideogrammic method which is a development of his vorticism and selects poems as examples of it. Chapter Three falls into two sections; section one, The Concept of the Poet-Critic, addresses the critical definition of the poet-critic in relation to Ezra Pound; section two, entitled ,explores the dual identity of Ezra Pound as a poet and critic to reveal the relation between these two major facets of his career 9 Major among the critical issues to be traced in Pound's poetry are those of the nature, the function and the criteria of genuine poetry, the importance of tradition and craftsmanship, the relation between poetry, music, science and the visual arts such as painting and sculpture . The conclusion sums up the views and findings of the study.e critical issues to be traced in Pound's poetry are those of the nature, the function and the criteria of genuine poetry, the importance of tradition and craftsmanship, the relation between poetry, music, science and the visual arts such as painting and sculpture . The conclusion sums up the views and findings of the study.