Imagism (Pound, H.D., Lowell, W.C. Williams)

What is the image of "The Great Figure"?

"5" the number sits on top of a fire truck that is going through a city.

5 Principles of Imagism

1) Direct concentration on the "image"-- the thing itself 2) Use of common speech 3) Use of precise words 4) Creation of new rhymes 5) Freedom in choice of subject

William Carlos Williams

A pediatrician and poet in New Jersey. His poetry focused on modern American life unlike his peers.He avoided presenting explanations and his poetry was about commonplace objects

What do Imagists consider preferable to abstractions? (Pound's "A Few Dont's...")

An exact, precise description that does not confuse the senses.

Amy Lowell

Belonging to a family of considerable wealth, she was a descendant of romanticism poet James Russel Lowell and the sister of a Harvard president. She declared poetry her "natural mode of expression" and won a Pulitzer Prize for her collection "What's O'Clock". Ezra Pound did not agree with calling her poetry imagism and quit the movement. He deemed it too sentimental and not "hard and clear" enough.

What is the image of the first stanza of "The River Merchant's Wife"?

Children; the speaker describes her childhood in a small Chinese village playing with friends. She describe herself and her husband as "Two small people, without dislike or suspicion"

H.D.

First poems were published by Ezra Pound, whom she met when she was very young, under the name "H.D. Imagiste". Took inspiration from Greek poetry. Her early poems were short and direct, often emphasizing light, color, and texture. One of her later works includes an epic poem

What is the Image of "Heat" by H.D.

Heat; the speaker begs wind to break up the heat and describes how the heat makes fruit melt and prevents in from falling

What is the image of the third stanza of "The River Merchant's Wife"?

Love; the speaker describes how at fifteen, she overcame her disdain for marriage and comes to lover her husband. She says, "I desired my dust to be mingled with your/ Forever and forever and forever"

What is the image of the second stanza of "The River Merchant's Wife"?

Marriage; the speaker describes the ceremony when she was fourteen. She was bashful and did not look up or laugh.

To what other art does Pound compare the art of poetry to in "A Few Dont's by an Imagist"?

Music, he tells the reader to behave as a musician when writing poetry.

How did the Imagist measure the success of one's career? (Pound's "A Few Dont's...")

On how well they present their "image" in their poetry, not by how much poetry they produce. If they can give their reader a sudden sense of liberation through their poem

What is the image of Amy Lowells' "Patterns"?

Patterns is the image; this image is shown though visuals, societal norms, physical actions/occurrences, fashion, feelings, nature, etc. The speaker talks about how she wishes to escape patterns

What does Ezra Pound say about using rhyme?

Rhyme should have a slight element of surprise in it, but do not get caught up in this. The image is the first priority of the poem.

What is the image of the fourth stanza of "The River Merchant's Wife"?

Separation; the speaker describes how her husband left when she was sixteen for business. He has been gone for five months

Summarize Pound's additude towards adjectives in "A Few Dont's by an Imagist"

adjectives should only be used when necessary to reveal something about the image. Never use any words that do not reveal an immediate physical detail about the image

What is described in W.C. Williams poem "Poem (as the cat)"?

it describes the way a cat is moving, the image is the cat

What is unique about "The River-Merchant's Wife" as an imagist poem?

it includes multiple images, these images are specific to certain groupings of words, such as stanzas

Ezra Pound

known as the first leader of the imagist movement but wrote other poetry as well.He inspired and encouraged other poets to experiment with new techniques, forms, and ideas of poems. He quit the movement after Amy Lowell became very prominent because he did not believe her poetry to be true imagism. He was known as an outspoken supporter of Mussolini which he was arrested for for being a traitor. He was declared mentally unfit for trial and was placed in a mental hospital. He eventually moved back to Italy where he died

What is the image in the first half of the fifth stanza?

pain; the speaker describes the hurt she and her husband felt as he left and the pain of knowing that so much time has passed since then

What is the image of W.C. Williams' poem "This is Just to Say"?

plums. the speaker apologizes for eating some one else's plums out of the icebox because they were too delicious

What is the image on the second half of the fifth stanza of "The River Merchant's Wife"?

sadness; the speaker describes how she feels knowing she grows older and her husband will not be with her for some time.

What is an image (according to Ezra Pound)?

something that presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. It gives the reader a sudden feeling of liberation and sense of growth.

What is the image of "In a Station of the Metro"?

the image is the "apparition" of a crowd of people whose faces look like petals on a wet, black branch

What is the image of "Pear Tree" by H.D.?

the white blooms of a pear tree