The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
In A Station Of The Metro
Analysis, meaning and summary of Ezra Pound's poem In A Station Of The Metro
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My first opinon (sp?)on the poem was. Wow it is way to short, how can you get a poem out of this. But reading more deeper i seen that he had more meaning and had a great way of words. The symbolisim and everything was wonderful. I see why my english teacher recomended his poem to me
The poem was bad there was no meaning and was way to short
I am doing an english report on Pound and i do not take any thing from this poem, he needed to think a little more it is not powerful at all! Some of the comments I think are horrible- but pound is an ok poet
This poem is very powerful and moving, despite its short length. It proves that poems are not about how much you can write, but how well you can right with fewer words that mean more.
‘In A Station Of The Metro’ is a masterpiece of imagism.
One important thing that no critic should forget is that works of this kind are highly subjective. But Pound by the title of the poem teases us into the situation. I immediately find myself by the roadside after school, waiting to board a bus home. The crowd is thick; there is no order;the last to arrive want to be first to get on board; no one seems to be pathetic or to respect natural justice. Taking the first line of the poem, the keywords “apparition” “faces” and “crowd” will be meaningful when considered at a literary level. “Apparition” suggests that every event of the scene is phantasmagoria. “Faces” is a strong symbolic tool. The face is a mirror of the innerman. It reflects our emotions. A smiling face signifies a happy soul; a sad soul will imprint melancholy in the face; a scowl signals anger. “Faces” therefore suggest the variety of persons and their feelings. “Crowd” suggests a population of these people and faces. It also suggests a link between a face and another. Implicit in this is that the transient and illusive expressions you see on each face is influenced by the environment.
The next line concludes it all. “Petals” are conspicuous and standout in any collection of colours. It seems to contradict the writers us of “apparition” and “crowd”, as it suggests that individuals could be recognised. But no! It’s perfect. All the horror – “black” and stillness, lifelessness, hopelessness, weary, misery and pessimism expressed on the faces – “wet” are deceptive of their true identity. Behind these “ills” hides a beauty that conquers all and makes lives thrive.
im trying to midel pounds poem by writing one of similar likeliness( the 2 line dealio)
1.
children giggleing in a park,
a single snow flake set on fire
or 2.
children giggling under a star filled sky,
the ice cold snow turns into a blazing fire
please comment if i posted this twice im sorry i couldnt get my computer to work
The image of the petals on the black brough appears very contrasted in my mind (I’m thinking of a vivid pink petal on a black branch in the middle of winter). Similarly, the faces of the people next to the backdrop of a dull, dark subway station also appears strikingly similar
I think this poem is unattached observation of the poet
I like it cos it’s simple, and I like it cos it’s in-depth. The use of imagism enables the auther to fuse his feeling and environment together perfectly. All in all, it’s a short but nice one worth reading.
I would recommend reading this poem and then walking in a crowded square with the words still fresh in your mind. I did this while in school and the poem truly resignated with the experience. The many people passing by instantaneously gone as soon as one has looked upon their features, their faces as apparitions in time. A singular part of a great life tree that has at times been of the blackest sorrow and yet with spring can come fresh beauty and tremendous joy. Perhaps interpreting a poem such as this really does require ‘hands on’ use of its words and imagery. Just an opinion of course.
short but deep, imagery is important. it seems to be the infinity in a minute in one’s eyes.
Of course, the scene is placed at a subway station in Paris…the “metro.” I believe he is traveling to this new town, and as he looks around he sees all these “faces in the crowd” who are strangers that are coming into view and being accepted (what “apparition” means”). I believe Pound is a little frightened in the subway with all the new surroundings. Then, he notices and accepts the beauty of these faces just like we would accept petals blooming in the spring.
I think this poem is an ode to the randomness of life…the many people you meet on the subway in some way contribute to you life in just the fact that they cross your path…if you’re like me you’ll wonder why the weary looking woman is really as old as she appears, or is her life hard and taking away her youth? The petals are black, but they are still petals nonetheless, so it is still beautiful.
This poem makes you think and leaves it up to you to decipher what Pound is trying to portray.
A metro is a subway system in Europe/ France, generally.
Read the poem with the title as that is truly the first line. The subway is crowded and the people arfe stuck, they cannot move because it is so crowded, like petals stuck to a wet tree branch or tree stump,
that is a good poem, but chinese ancient poet Ma Zhiyuan could be the teacher of pound. If you don’t believe you should go to reade the poems of ma, such as 天尽沙.秋思
Poem, I belive, should not be a puzzle; when you solve a puzzle, it is no longer atractive or is a puzzle; no usefullness, trash it. Hovewer, a poem should be read again and again; every time you read and evertime one should enjoy reading it again; poem should not give a feeling of burden to a reader; Writing a compasition is a high-school students puzzle, but a poem also should not even be closer to a composition which I am afraid saome of the poem embeded along. Since poem is a sinthesis of a subjective protest that connects protester and protested, than, I think poem achieves its goal, Additionaly, without harmony and ritm how could be a wrting could be considered a poem.
who knew that three lines could be so inspirational? the level of imagism used in Ezra’s work is phenomenal… just reading over the comments that have ben left here prove it. personally i find this type of poem to be thought-provoking, and i think the author wrote it this way to be very open-ended and free to interpretation
well it is simple still there a special meaning…. waw!! that is so beutifull!!;)o_O
Este poema de Ezra Pound é o corolário de todas as teses sobre a estética na poesia que Pound escreveu. É a perfeita imagem do imagismo, é a perfeitÃssima sintese da metonÃmia colocado em prática. Jamais na poesia anglo-saxónica moderna houve um poeta que, com duas estrofes apenas tenha criado tanto ( William Carlos Williams fez o mesmo mas com mais estrofes no poema The Locust Tree.. ), e o que Pound criou foi a perfeita exaltação da solitude dos rostos, de todos os rostos, na multidão, metaforizando-os como um ramo húmido de flores tristes.
Can’t understand it? Read Yeats’ ‘The Two Trees’. He wrote this in a time when imagism was emerging in place of symbolism. He uses Yeats’ words and molds them to his liking and changes the meaning of everything. The black bough could represent death, while the petals could represent what was left of a life or someone’s life he once knew, hence the apparition in the crowd. He could be reflecting on a memory.