Ezra Pound And Imagism

As the father of modernism which is the main stream of literature in the twentieth century, Ezra Pound definitely plays a predominant role in the evolution of modernist poetry. Its starting point is Imagism. Ezra Pound抯 Imagist theory is mainly based on the aesthetic theories proposed by W. B. Yeats, Ford Madox Ford and T. E. Hulme. Yeats is famous for a symbolist who emphasizes subjective conception and imaginative association, but this school tends to lapse into sentimentality; Ford is famous for an impressionist who emphasizes objective writing with clarity and precision, but this school tends to lapse into the level of description. Pound absorbs the strengths of Yeat抯 subjectivity and Ford抯 objectivity and finds a way to make natural objects convey subjective emotion by virtue of association of the mind. As a very influential theorist of modernist poetry, T. E. Hulme also exerts great influence on Pound. In his manifesto for Imagism 慠omanticism and Classicism? Hulme denounces romantic aesthetics while advocates precision of statement and simplicity of form. He proposes the use of clear, visual imagery in poetry. Hulme is mainly responsible for working out the principles on which the Imagist Movement is founded. He advocates hard, clear and condensed image. After sufficient theoretical preparation and ceaseless poetic practice, Pound becomes the most outstanding leader of Imagism. He defines image as the combination of an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. He also proposes the three principles of Imagism: 1 .Direct treatment of the 憈hing?whether subjective or objective. 2.To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation. 3 .As regarding rhythm: to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in the sequence of a metronome. These principles provide some basic writing rules for the Imagist writers. The main writing technique for the presentation of image is metaphor. It encourages the reader to find similarity between two diverse things that have no direct connection with each other. Vortex is an important vocabulary in Pound抯 dictionary besides image and metaphor. It is the image with the intensest emotion. Pound defines Vorticist art as a certain fluid force against circumstances conceiving instead of merely reflecting and observing. Vorticism is the expansion of Imagism. When Cathay is published, Pound抯 interest turns to the Chinese ideogram. Inspired by the American sinologist Ernest Fenollosa抯 The Chinese Written Character as a Medium for Poetry, Pound establishes the Ideogramic Method, whose aim is to combine abstract concept with concrete particulars by the juxtaposition of distinct elements in a poem to produce intense effect. Thus Pound sets up his own mature and systematic thought. Pound is a most devoted weeder in the Garden of the Muses on the level of critical theory and on that of creative practice. He almost singlehandedly leads poetry to modernism and exerts far-reaching impact on Imagist writers. He is a great forerunner in the literary circle of the twentieth century. No one can deny Pound抯 position as a great artist.