On Ezra Pound's Ambivalence Towards The Function Of Poetry

Ezra Pound is a prominent figure in Anglo-American modernist poetry,and also a man of contradiction.There are plenty of contradictions and inconsistency in his concepts of poetry.Critics do not sort out and explain Pound's inconstancy regarding the function of poetry.Therefore,solving this problem is helpful for further research on Pound.From the perspective of modernity,this thesis attempts to explore Pound's ambivalence towards the function of poetry and analyze its causes.This thesis contains introduction,main part and conclusion.Introduction briefly introduces Pound's biography,works and literature review.The main part is divided into three chapters.Chapter one discusses Pound's pursuit of the autonomy of poetry.Pound believes that art should not serve politics or religion,but is an independent object which has autonomic aesthetic value.Pound's pursuit of poetic autonomy is discussed from two aspects.Firstly,Pound's Imagist theory emphasizes on the objectivity of “image” and treating it in an objective way so as to achieve the autonomy of poetry.Secondly,Pound is attracted to Chinese poetry,because Chinese poetry is “concise”,“objective” and “not didactical”.It coincides with his aesthetic pursuit.Chapter two examines Pound's ideas about the social functions of poetry.Pound claims that art has “diagnostic” and “curing” functions.Poetry is no longer an independent object of “art for art's sake”,but is instrumental in social reform.Firstly,Pound's poetry criticizes bourgeois civilization from aspects of literature and economic system.Secondly,Pound considers that classical art,Confucianism and a good economic system are effective remedies for western society.Thus Pound's ultimate goal is not to achieve aesthetic autonomy of poetry,but social reform.Chapter three analyzes the causes of Pound's contradictory poetics.Pound is a poet who experiences profound cultural and social transformation.Firstly,Pound is affected by aestheticism.The emergence of aesthetic modernity heralds the arrival of cultural transformation.In literature,aesthetic modernity inspires writers to write with the consciousness of “art for art's sake”.Secondly,Pound experiences the brutal Great War.He realizes that there are many social conflicts.It is imperative to promote comprehensive economic and social reform.Then Pound's poetry turns to social commitment.Therefore,there is an irreversible ambivalence in Pound's poetics.To sum up,this thesis explores Pound's poetical ambivalence between the aesthetic autonomy of poetry and social mission of poetry.His ambivalence stems from the fact that he lives in an age of great social and cultural transformation.This thesis clarifies the historical and cultural context and connotation behind Pound's ambivalence.It not only helps us to have comprehensive understanding of Pound,but also enable us to have profound understanding of the era,an era of rapid change and contradiction.