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Imagery Poets
Imagery Poets
Imagery Poets
H. D. (Hilda Doolittle )
(1886-1961 )
r
The Imagis t Poets 727
Preview
Connecting to the Literature
You may know wh a t it is like to have a song stick in your mind, bu t
have you ev er h ad an image lod ge th ere ? The poem s you are about to
read ca pture in words some of the str ik ing images that lodged in the
minds and emo t ions of the Im agists.
Literary Analysis
Imagist P oetry
Imagist poems focu s on ev ok ing emotion and sparking the imagina
tion th rough the vivid presentat ion of a limited number of images. "In
a S tation of the Metro," for example, presents just two images and co n
sists of only two line s and fourt een well-chose n word s. Few poems have
been written that convey so much meaning with such brevity.
Reading Strategy
Engag ing Your Senses
These poems are filled with viv id imagery-word s or ph rases that
ap pea l to the se nses . As you enco un ter each image, engage you r senses
by re-creating in your mind the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physica l
sens ations associ ated with the image. Als o note that som e images ap pea l
to more than one sense. For examp le , you can almost see an d feel the
thickness in the ai r as H. D. ca lls o n the wind in "Heat":
Cut th e heat-
Use a chart like the one shown to record th e ways in whi ch you engage
your se nses as you read these poe ms.
Vocabulary D evelopment
voluminous (va loom' a nss) adj. of
enough material to fill volumes
(p. 729)
Sig ~
A Few Don'ts by an
IMAGISTE
I
Ezra Pound
Bac ground
Ezra Pound was one of the leading figures in the Imagist movement.
As the ame suggests, Imagists co ncent rat ed on the fo cused presentation of
images or word-pictures. For example, Pound's original draft of "In a Station
of the fY1etro" consisted of 30 lines. Pound whittled away at the poem until he
arrived lat a work of only 14 words of great pre cision and power. In this essay,
Pound p iscusses his beliefs about what poetry should and sho uld not be.
LJGUAGE
Use I 0 superfluous word , no adjective, which does not reveal
I
something.
Reading Check
According to Pound , what
is an image?
729
Literary Analysis
Imagist Poetry W y
Reading Strategy
Engaging Your Senses
What phys ical sensations
are suggested by th e
rhythmic wave Pound
advocates?
iil
I
I
4. iambs (i' arnbz') n. metrical feet consisting of two syllables, the first unaccented. the
other ;accented.
5. The first three simple proscriptions reference to Flint's three rules outlined in
foolnote #3.
I
Re iew and Assess
Thi I king About the Selection
1. R espond: What is your reaction to Pound's idea s abo ut poetry?
2. a) Recall: What th ree rul es does Pound inv ite readers to
do nsider ? (b) Define: What is the difference between dogma
~ln d the results of "long co n te mplation" ?
c) Speculate: Why did Pound prefer a list of "don'ts" to a list
f "do 's"?
3. a) Recall: What does Pound consider preferable to
abstrac t io ns ? (b) Analyze: Why wo uld th e use of abs trac t ions
I' e offe nsive to an Imagist poe t ?
4. (a ) Recall: Do es Pound co ns ide r S ha kespeare's image an
dxamp le of description or pre se n ta t ion ? (b) Distinguish: H ow
does pre sen tation d iffer from des cri ption ?
I
6. Ev aluate: Do you th in k foll owing Pound 's "do n' ts" would
make it easier or more difficult to write poetry?
A Few Don 'ts by an lmagiste 731
Ezra Pound
10
15
1. Chokan (cho' kan') a suburb of Nanking , a city in the People's Republic of China.
2. Ku-to-yen (koo' to' yen' ) an island in the Yangtze (yarjk' 56) River.
Literary Analys is
I
Imagist Poetry What
details in this sta riza
are most effectivJ in
.
.
I ?
conveyinq an Image.
20
25
Literary Analysis
Imagist Poetry What
details make this stanza
appeal to both the senses
and the emotions?
By Rihaku
3. Cho-fL-Sa (cho' foo' sin a beach along the Yangtze River, several hundred miles
from Nanking.
Reading Check
Who is the speaker in this
poem? Whom does she
address?
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mirror
733
Ina tation
of the etro
Ezra Pound
The Red
Wheelbarro\N
so much depends
uPin
I
a red wheel
I
baITOW
Among
the rain
I
and lights
I s dw the figure 5
in gold
on a r ed
I
fire ,lruck
moving
tense
unne eded
to gong clangs
siren h owls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city .
10
I
clamor of the poem? [Connect]
JU
TT
10
th e plums
t hat were in
the icebox
and which
saving
for breakfast
For give me
they were delicious
so sweet
and s o cold
the image appea l most ? (b) Analyze: In what way does thi s
PEAR TREE
5
10
Critical Viewing
Which phr ases from the
poem best describe this
image of a pear tree in
full flower ? [Evaluate]
H. D.
Silver dust
lifted from the earth,
higher than my a r m s re a ch ,
you h a ve mounted ,
0 silv er,
hi gher than my arms re ach
you front us with great m ass;
no flow er ever opened
s o stau n ch a white leaf,
no flow er ever parted s ilve r
from s u ch rare s ilve r;
o whit e pear,
15
Reading Check
What image does the
poet use to describe
the pe a r t re e flowers?
HEAT
H. D.
o wind , rend open the h eat,
rend it to tatters .
10
s.. . . . . .. ..
Literary Analysis
Quick Review
Imagist Poetry
1. Does "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter" qualify as a purely
Imagist poem? Why or why not?
2. What effect does Pound's choice of the word apparition-commonly
used to describe a ghostly figure-to mean "appearance" con
tribute to "In a Station of the Metro"?
Reading Strategy
Engaging Your Senses
7. What other senses, besides sight, can you engage to re-create
the images of "Petals on a wet, black bough"? Explain .
8. Identify two examples of passages in "The River-Merchant's Wife"
in which you were able to engage the sense of smell.
Extend Understanding
9. Literature Connection: "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter"
is an adaptation of a poem by the Chinese poet Li T'a i Po. What
challenges and opportunities face a poet in translating a work of
literature from one language and culture to another ?
www.phschool.com
Take the interactive
self-test online to check
your understanding of
these selections.
apparent
appearance
apparition
1. He made a brief
?
at the awards
dinner-just long enough to pick up his
trophy and say a few words.
2. When midnight found the toddlers still
running around the house, it became
?
that the babysitter was no longer
in control.
3. TILe
?
of a face at the window
nearly stopped her heart with fear.
Spelling Strategy
You may need to drop the cl when adding the
prefix ad- to a word or word stem beginning with
the consonants p, g, s, or c. If so, you must also
double the consonant, as in appear. Use this
principle to correctly spell the words below.
1. ad- + gressor
2. ad- + sign
3. ad- + prove
pulling flowers.
'Jt16 Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar Connection: Chapter 17, Section 1
740 Disillusion, Defiance, and Discontent ( 1914-1946)
Writing Lesson
An Editor's Review of Manuscript
Imagine th at you are a magazine editor who has just received a manuscript from
an Imagist poet. W rite a let ter to the poet exp lain ing why you will or will not pub lish
his or her poems. Be simple, hon est, and kind , and incl ude construct ive criticism.
Prewriting
Drafting
W rite a let ter th at expla ins why you will or will not pu blish the
poems . Disc uss strengths, and iden t ify flaws. Sel ect specific words
th at best convey your meani ng.
Revising
Review your draft, highlighting any words that are inac curate or
vague. Then, replace those words with bette r, more spec ific choices.
wry
and ideas. I especially enjoyed theiner
Just to Say."
isle-tone of "This Is
Replacing vague
words with specific
words helps to express
ideas exactly.
7t16 Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar Conn ection : Chapter 16, Section 1
Extension Activities
Listening and Speaking Of "T he Red Wheel
barrow," Roy H arvey Pearce writes: "A t its worst
this is togetherness in a chickenyard. At its best
it is an exercise in the crea tion of the poetic out
of th e anti-poetic." Which view do you hold?
Defend your view in an informal debate with
classmates. To prepare, keep th ese tips in mind :
Find exam ples to support both posit ions,
and th en dec ide wh ich you will argue.
Use exa mples for the opposi ng side to
develop arguments agains t that position.
As you debate, be as clea r and as eloquent as
possible. [Group Activity]
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