Tom,
 
Thanks for the insights, I haven't been keeping up with all the emails
because of class (coincidentally a Chaucer class) . . . .
 
Tonight I'm going to the library to get Pearson's _Barb_ (I'll probably be
reading that tonight); I'd be very interested to have a look at your
disertation.
 
I have to agree with your assessment of Pound's (devotion to classical
meters &) learned justifiable experimentation--especially given the rythmic
elegance of the first two lines of Canto I.  (Kenner isn't the only critic
whom I've read to point out the heavy surge of the large wooden vessel's
commencment etched into the meter of these lines).
 
Isn't "experimentation in form" one of the "grand pillars" of modernism,
which Pound helped to establish?
 
I think that characterizations of Pound based upon after-the-fact political
notions tend to oversimplify his stances by creating a nifty polarity.  I
recently read--I'll find the source if anyone's interested--that Pound's
radio broadcasts were allowed by the government as a demonstration of "equal
time to the opposition" to show that they could tolerate a diversity of
opinions.
 
I also enjoyed your Chaucer/Pound renunciation/denunciation equation;
there's definitely an ample amount of humor in _The Cantos_, enough to
require a pause before accepting things at face value.
 
Anyway, I'm sure I've demonstrated enough of my ignorance for now.
 
 
 
Dave.