EXPLORING EZRA POUND’S “IN A STATION OF THE METRO”

In Ezra Pound’s short poem “In a Station of the Metro,” the image of “the apparition”

draws readers into an immediate disembodied encounter apart from normal experience. Yet,

this “apparition” exists in the daily real world of the subway. Pound’s juxtaposition of a

paranormal experience within a normal setting presents a contrast that stimulates a sense of

ambiguity and uncertainty throughout the poem and invites his readers to consider many

possible interpretations.

Pound sets the stage for the location of the “apparition” in the title of the poem: we enter

“a Station” of “the Metro.” Pound’s choice of the article “a” to modify “station” implies that we

might encounter the “apparition” in any station rather than in a particular station. He shields us

from the peculiarities of a specific space and enhances our felt-sense of the ethereal scene.

“The,” which is used to describe “Metro,” is also significant. Although Pound does not elaborate

that the poem’s “Metro” is located in a specific city, his use of “the” to modify “Metro” suggests

that it is, in fact, a particular metro. This grounds the poem in the specific rather than the non-

specific. While we are free to call on our individual understanding of how we picture the “Metro,”

we are also asked to relate to a specific subway, perhaps one we encounter on a daily basis.

We are situated in a familiar, particular place, “the Metro,” and an unfamiliar location within that

place, “a Station.” Thus, we both know our location and don’t know our location simultaneously;

he immediately draws the reader into an ambiguous state of mind with the title alone.

This surreal experience continues in the first image of the poem. Pound’s use of “the” is

once again significant. “The” describes a singular, unique “apparition.” Yet, the prepositional

phrase that describes “the apparition” is plural: “of these faces.” By using “these” to define

“faces,” Pound suggests that individual faces create one “apparition.” The poet invites his

audience to envision a sea of particular faces melding into a unified, non-particular ghost-like

mass. They don’t sense the individual, but they know they are looking at a group of specific

human beings who cram together in a space in order travel from one destination to another.

The prepositional phrase “in the crowd” used to define “faces” is also significant. The “crowd”
EXPLORING EZRA POUND’S “IN A STATION OF THE METRO”

(singular) consists of many “faces” (plural). Once again, the audience moves from potentially

identifiable “faces” back to a singular, indistinguishable form of “the crowd”. Pound’s movement

from singular to plural and back to singular in describing “apparition,” “faces” and “crowd” further

engages his audience with the vagueness presented in this poem. Are they seeing one image

or many faces?

How someone might define the word “apparition” also contributes to the sense of

uncertainty. Is Pound suggesting that “apparition” means one incorporeal being, or does he

intend for the reader to interpret something that merely appears in one instant of time? Again, it

is not clear. If that “apparition” is a supernatural sight, then the first line in the poem suggests

that the poet transports the audience into another realm by implying that the conglomeration of

many people appears to be one disembodied, almost eerie form. If, on the other hand, the

“apparition” is something that appears, then perhaps the poet invites his readers to question

their own center of focus as they go through their daily routines of life. When a person enters

the subway and sees a crowd of people hording onto a train, does he or she focus on the mass

as one unit and forget the particular individual, or do they remember the individual beings make

up that crowd? Again, Pound presents ambiguities.

The last line of the poem also conveys a sense of inexact meaning as the poet contrasts

a city-life image of the subway with a natural image of “petals on a wet, black bough.” “Petals”

typically relate to a flower, while “bough” is usually associated with a tree. It is strange to think

flower petals placed on the bough of a tree. Yet, this image contributes to the overall obscurity

that was first suggested with the term “apparition.” The tree bough is black, so the reader must

question: is the tree dead or is it only fallow for the winter? And they might wonder if it simply

appears black because the way the light strikes its surface. After all, tree branches are not

usually black. It is a forceful image created by three, one-syllable words “wet, black bough,”

which ring out in unison when spoken. The use of alliteration in “black” and “bough” further

strengthens a sense that these petals, which are generally thought of as colorful, do not belong
EXPLORING EZRA POUND’S “IN A STATION OF THE METRO”

on a “black bough.” How did the “petal” get there? Did it dislodge from the stems, float on the

wind, and come to rest on the tree? Or are the petals actually petals; could they be

“apparitions” created by the light reflecting off the wet surface of the large branch? These are

questions because there is no way to understand why petals would be found on a wet tree

branch. Again, the poet presents an ambiguous image.

However, because Pound chooses to compare an image of a crowd of people in a

subway station to an image of a petal-covered tree branch, he encourages his readers to

grapple with uncertainties and to imagine the many possible interpretations; he prompts our

participation. He could be suggesting that just as it is unnatural for flower petals to rest on the

wet bough of a dead or fallow tree, it is equally unnatural for individual humans to cram into a

claustrophobic space onto a city metro. Or he could be asking his readers to ponder the

impossibility of individuality within the context of mass-populated city life. He might also be

asking them to consider if they, like the petals, have been removed from their natural home.

They might wonder whether they, like the petals, have sailed adrift from their humanity only to

finally rest in the swarming city Metro that is dead like the “black, wet bough.” Most importantly,

however, he could be bidding them to contemplate the function of poetry and the role of the poet

within the context of modern life. Pound seizes an image of a congested subway station in a

city and transforms it into an impression of a natural setting. This juxtaposition of two very

dissimilar images invites people to participate, to question and to reflect on meaning, thus

engaging them in a conversation with both the poet and the images he presents. In a strange

way, Pound might be inviting all of us to live with the question without requiring a definite,

immediate answer, to embrace the ambiguity, until finally this dialog births a response that

enables us to embrace the poet’s power of unique vision that transforms the world he

encounters. Perhaps in this small poem, the poet intimates something about the power of

imaginative transformation in the context of an uncertain and perplexing, busy world.