Brennan:
I think it would be worthwhile to pause a moment in the business of casting
Pound up against Eliot in the "greatest sweepstakes" to consider carefully
the fact that you quote, namely, that Eliot saluted Pound as the better
maker. Eliot, less than Pound even, was not given to thoughtless remarks in
print, nor was he merely being cavalier. He meant what he said. Pound of
course is the more difficult discipline, and provides a much slower "take"
than Eliot. I suspect that will emerge for you as you continue your studies.
Tom White

> From: Brennen Lukas <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: - Ezra Pound discussion list of the University of Maine
> <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 11:29:19 -0500
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Pound the poet
>
> What was Pound's general pupose in littering his poetry, especially the
> Cantos, with fairly obscure references, foreign phrases and dropped names? I
> wonder how this tendency gels with Imagist rule no. 1: "To use the language
> of common speech, but to employ the exact word, not the nearly-exact, nor
> the merely decorative word."
>
> I would argue that Pound's reluctance to let go of the mythical references
> of which he was so fond, combined with a high-toned diction, ultimately
> restricted his ability to produce resonant poetry. Pound deserves great
> credit for his part in the Imagist movement, but he was not the most
> accomplished practitioner. I don't think this is entirely the poet's fault.
> We are all products of our times. T.S. Eliot's poetry sprung from the same
> classical groundings, as evidenced be _The Waste Land_ and _Prufrock_, among
> other examples. But Eliot also knew how to cut to the quick of the human
> condition with the language of common speech: "I shall wear the bottoms of
> my trousers rolled." So even if Pound was "il miglior fabbro" (another
> reference), Eliot was a better poet.
>
> Now this is not to say that Pound did not have his successes and that he
> always leaned on his litany of references to achieve his effect. I simply
> maintain that he was perhaps too much a die-hard intellectual to really
> produce poetry that matched his own Imagist standards.
>
> I welcome your comments.
>
> Brennen Lukas
> Annandale, Virginia
>
>
>>
>> But Pound's writing, line by line, is perfectly clear. The references,
>> foreign phrases, can be cleared up with a gloss, or one can skip them to
>> begin with.
>
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