Of course 'stilted' is a relative term, so I can't disagree with you outright. But if one compares the diction of Pound's early works with that of the poetry that was being written at the time and with that of the generation preceding, we find in Pound a relatively natural, straightforward, even colloquial language, and it stays that way, even as he begins to experiment with non-iambic meters. Also, take a look at Pound's review of Robert Frost's first book of poetry, where P. condemns in lesser writers (not meaning Frost) the use of the 'circumplectious polysyllable' -- I hope my memory has not twisted Pound's delightfully sarcastic phrase into something unrecognizable. Tim Romano Harold Rhenisch wrote: > > Pound is already stilted. > > I don't have a problem with that, and it does not diminish him for me. > > Harold Rhenisch > [log in to unmask]