Homework 6: Ezra Pound, Imagist Poems

"The Image is the poet's pigment; the image is not an idea, it is a radiant node or cluster. A vortex through which, and from which, and into which ideas are constantly rushing. It is as true for painting and sculpture as it is poetry." -Ezra Pound


When writing a poem, I break my lines and stanzas up similar to musical phrasing; I treat my lineation the same way triplets, clusters of eighth and sixteenth notes make up a larger word and grouping of syllables. End-stopped lines are whole rests, an entire measure's worth of silence is to be observed whereas commas or larger spaces without marking are usually indicative of half-rests, or only half the length of a full pause. I like to keep my stanzas small, concise, yet filled with prose or flowery language as a way to convey a musical undercurrent or bring attention to words that are fun to let slip through one's teeth. Words are an oath and testament to language, so acknowledging the forgotten or more ornate ones is like remembering the old inscriptions of house mottos left upon the aging walls of a once great palace.

I agree with the reading that lines that are end-stopped are rather easy to predict and break up into smaller, more predictable pieces. Following what has been clearly marked out in the ink of the poem is usually the path of least resistance and it's likely that the poem had been written and structured in that specific way for a reason. However, I disagree with the idea that poetic phrases without punctuation should be ready through as if they carry on like a traditional sentence until completion. If there's a break in a poem, I think that means that there should be a pause. If lines are broken into stanzas, there should be a moment to cushion them, ponder them, then add them back together into the whole.



Imagist Poems

Kitten

I

Kitten crouches at the door
A javelin readied before release
To split the air 

II

Kitten yowls at thunder
Determined that her rancor 
Should be the loudest

III

The night draws long
Kitten awakes with open jaws
And screams the sun into the sky

IV

Kitten does not like the silence
She shudders with memories 
Being forgotten