Close Imagist Reading of "In A Station of the Metro" by Ezra Pound

Abigail McCormick
English 10C
Aimee Fountain
16 April 2018

Close Imagist Reading of "In A Station of the Metro" by Ezra Pound 

     When looking at Ezra Pound’s 1913 poem “In a Station of the Metro” in relation to the Imagist Manifesto, the way in which the use of many different literary devices — namely diction and form — work to support the common understandings of Imagism are quite important. Specifically, the disturbance of the boundaries in which divide metaphor from literal understanding of this poem make it one of which generally follows the rules of an Imagist perspective. Because of its following of the Imagist ideals, Pound’s poem works as a hard and clear idea masked and yet somehow defined by a metaphor, in which he is making a commentary on the societal standards people are held to and their compulsion to wear a metaphorical “mask” when in public.

Pound’s use of interesting and deliberate diction works to create and set the tone for the small yet intense poem, in that it can be developed and interpreted in a number of ways. On the surface, Pound is using the two lines to simply describe the scene he is seeing at his stop at the Metro station; the simplicity and fast pace of it works to show how quickly the scene is changing (i.e. the use of the world ‘black’ in the second line is, according to color archetypes in literature, a representation of chaos). However, when one begins to pick apart the word choice, there is much more in terms of the meaning behind his physical perception. For one, the use of the word “apparition”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, can be perceived as “the action of appearing or becoming visible”, and “manifestation, demonstration, display” (Oxford English Dictionary). The key words such as “display” and “becoming visible” allude to the fact that each individual among this wide array of people is using a metaphorical mask to cover parts of themselves from the rest of the world, but Pound is able to see through the cover and recognize that each individual is just playing a part. 

Building upon the idea that Pound is critiquing the idea that people wear masks in public to hide who they really are, the second line is packed full of evidence that he is aware of this cover. The word “petal” is commonly viewed as a “modified lea[f], typically distinctly colored, which form[s] the segments of the corolla of a flower” (Oxford English Dictionary). Continuing with the line, the word “wet” acknowledges water, which is transparent, again alluding to the fact that he can see through the deception, and “black bough” almost works as a way to ground and further establish the poem again. In this case, however, there is a distinction created between the “petals” of the flower, and the “wet, black bough” in which petals are distinct, beautiful, and colorful, and therefore stand out against the blackness that is the limb of a tree. While it may seem that Pound creates a positive view of the people in the station, it is, in turn, making a commentary upon the idea that they stand out to him amongst the crowd. This being noted, the reader must then consider the distinction between the idea that Pound uses “petals” to describe these people, as opposed to the truly beautiful and natural “flower” in which actually draws positive attention and expresses true beauty in the real world.

When considering the methodical form of the poem, the fact that there are only two lines plays a large part in the consideration of what this poem translates to, as well as the role of syntax in the development of his ideas working to cultivate a pace for the reader to follow. Because the poem is only two lines, there are many ideas in which can be developed from a close reading, and there are many pathways in which readers can express their own ideas through his work. However, the specific placement of the semicolon at the end of line one, possibly representing the actual action of looking around the Metro, potentially forces the reader to pause and consider his ideas within their own life. In the second line, the length and placement of a comma within the center of the line slows down the pace dramatically, and paints a very vivid picture in the reader’s brain. These pauses and changes in pace not only represent the actual actions the narrator within the poem, but definitely work to force the reader to consider the underlying meaning of this text. 

The development of Imagism within Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” works to develop a hard and clear statement, all while utilizing a vivid metaphor in which yields a perfectly methodical criticism of the masks humans wear on a day-to-day basis. The fact that his poem is able to be considered in many different aspects is actually what makes Pound the perfect Imagist, and develops the ideas that force the reader to consider their own actions in everyday life. 

Cited:

“Apparition”. Oxford English Dictionary.http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/9527?rskey=46kGrc&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

“Petal”. Oxford English Dictionary. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/141784?rskey=dyKqEy&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid