2010美国文学史 Lecture 12modernist poetry Stevens Frost.pptVIP

Lecture 12 Modernist Poetry: Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, and Robert Frost The Imagist Movement (Imagism) Led by Ezra Pound and flourished from 1909 to 1917, the movement advanced modernism in arts which concentrated on reforming the medium of poetry as opposed to Romanticism, especially Tennyson s wordiness and high-flown language in poetry. The three principles followed by the Imagists were: (1) Direct treatment (2) Economy of expression (3) “Free verse Direct Treatment The subject of the poem must be expressed in such a way as to resemble it and reproduce it as closely as possible. Simple language must be used to create an image which the reader can immediately see in his own imagination. Each word must be used with great exactitude to produce a precise image and nothing more. Economy of expression No word must be used which does not contribute directly to the image. The language must be concentrated. There must be no drawing of conclusions, no explanations. Free verse No unnecessary words may be included in order to make meter or a rhyme. A poem should be composed with the phrasing of music, not a metronome. Examples of Imagist Poems In a Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams In a Station of the Metro The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ezra Pound (1885—1972)  His life His works His contribution His Life (1) 1 Born in 1885 in Hailey, Idaho 2 Brought up in Pennsylvania 3 Studied Romance languages at college and university 4 Sailed to Europe and first poetry in Venice in 1908 5 Arrived in London and founded Imagism 6 Editor of “Poetry” in 1912 and blue-penciled Eliot’s “The Waste Land” His life (2) 7 In 1913 began studying Chinese Language and ancient Chinese culture 8 In 1914 sponsored Vorticism 9 In 1915 finished “Cathay” and began working on “Cantos” 10 “Homage to Sextus Propertius in 1917 11 “Hugh Selwyn Mauberley” in 1920 12 Tre