During week 2 of class, we read two articles that explained the concept of imagism. The first being, “A Retrospect” and “A Few Don’ts” by Ezra Pound. The second being, “Preface to Some Imagist Poets”  by Amy Lowell. Many people have found differences in the two’s definition of imagism, however, I have found that they agree on the important stuff. The important stuff being: rhythm and form, clarity, and the use of imagery (duh).

The last point of agreement, imagery, seems obvious to have when describing imagist poetry because it is in the name itself. However, agreeing on rhythm and form and clarity is quite the importance. By rhythm and form, I mean that both Pound and Lowell believed that it was not necessary to follow a certain meter while writing in poetry. Lowell says that free verse should be fought for as a “principle of liberty” and that the new rhythms found in free verse convey “new moods”. By being modernist, one would assume there would be modern rhythms and not “old rhythms, which merely echo old moods” like those in a set meter. Pound agrees that composition “in the sequence of a metronome” is not the best rhythm. Pound believes the poems should be “composed in the sequence of the musical phrase”.

Miraculously, the pair not only agree on the use of free-verse, but they also agree on being succinct in way they are trying to convey. In Lowell’s words, the job of the imagist is “to produce poetry that is hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite”. In other words, don’t beat around the bush in what you are trying to say. It isn’t necessary to have an extended metaphor that extends through out the whole poem and is up for 87 different interpretations. Pound agrees that the imagist should have “direct treatment of the ‘thing'” in which they are writing about. As someone who greatly appreciates clarity, I’m incredibly glad that both Pound and Lowell think it is good to be straight forward.

Lastly, does the importance of imagery in imagist writing really need to be explained? It seems pretty straight forward to me. Kind of like, you need a basketball to play a basketball game. Or you need to know how to write, to write an essay. So, I’m not really surprised they agreed on that front. I’d be more surprised if they disagreed.

Dani Shewmake

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