Comment by George Dekker on the final 9 lines of Canto VII
in _Sailing after Knowledge_ is as follows:
The closing lines of Canto VII fuse the description of Henry
James with the figure of Alessandro de Medici, and conclude
with an evocation of the 'Nicea'.......There is a good deal of
humor involved, of course, in the grand vision of James as the
central figure in an inexplicable Renaisance intrigue....
in this  'double vision'  Alessandro remains an impressive figure....
 
Ronald Bush cites the final 13 lines in _The Genesis of Ezra Pound's
Cantos_ and writes as follows:
After an overview of modern paralysis, the speaking voice suddenly
returns to the problem of Alessandro and Lorenzaccio.......
 
I wonder if these might be some help to you. I am very much helped by
your problem-orientation.
 
  Hideo Nogami
  studying Ezra Pound and art history
  nonprofessionally
  [log in to unmask]
 
> -----Original Message-----
 > A colleague has asked me to talk about Ezra Pound in a seminar on Henry
> James's influence on modern poets. I thought we might talk about Canto VII
> since James appears in the Canto.
>
> My question concerns the lines near the end of the canto:
> "And the tall indifference moves, / a more living shell, / Drift
> in the air
> of fate, dry phantom, but intact."
>
> The Norton Anthology of Modern Lit. (2nd. ed.) identifies the "tall
> indifference" as James. However, Terrell's Companion does not make this
> identification.
>
> Is the Norton right? If so, don't the lines seem a rather harsh
> characterization, or do they in fact match the way Pound describes James
> earlier in the Canto, "old voice . . . weaving an endless sentence"?
>
> If anyone can suggest something I can read on this matter of Pound and
> James, please advise.
>
> Timothy Materer, 107 Tate Hall,  English Department
> University of Missouri, Columbia MO  65211
> Fax: 573 882-5785
> http://www.missouri.edu/~engtim
>