Mythic Pound: An examination of the central place of myth and ritual in the poetry of Ezra Pound

The dissertation focuses on the poetry of Ezra Pound. Based upon a critical interpretive approach, the dissertation examines the role of myth and ritual in several of the writer's works including The Cantos, and, nine earlier volumes of his poetry and other writings. The eight chapters include: an Introduction, Pound's Early Poetry, Pound's Imagist Poetry, Introduction to The Cantos, The Cantos, the Pisan Cantos, Pound's Later Cantos, and a Conclusion.;The study also explores, in relation to the influence on Pound's poetry, the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries as well as the works of Confucius and related sacred texts.;Mythology and ritual have provided a continuous source for stories in world literature. By the twentieth century, major collections and compilations of myth and folklore emerged from anthropological, historical, and literary sources culminating in works including Frazer's The Golden Bough, and, later with the critical writings of anthropologists. In addition, psychological theories proposed by Freud and Jung added a significant amount of writings and views based on the role of human behavior, the collective unconscious, archetype, the emergence of the self, symbolism, dream interpretation, and the role of individual consciousness in the creation of literature and art, all popularized later in the century by Joseph Campbell.;The significance of the role of ritual within a mythological context may be viewed as a relevant foundation for present day literary works; the heroic quest, Ovidian themes of transformation, stories of exile, archetypal figures, and my selection of separation, initiation and return are prominent themes of contemporary literary fiction and film.;While the study illuminates Pound's Cantos, the author examines selections from several earlier volumes to explore the role of myth and ritual in our understanding of Pound's poetry.;The dissertation contributes to the study of rituals of the self, as well as those that correspond with religion, rites of passage, rebirth, and the life adventurer who is prominent in twentieth century modern and contemporary fiction.