On the Divergence of Imagism and Pound's Contribution to “Image”

ZHANG Tongzhu

doi:10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20236205

Volume 6 Issue 2

Jun. 2023

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Article Navigation > International Comparative Literature > 2023 > 6(2): 87-95

ZHANG Tongzhu. On the Divergence of Imagism and Pound's Contribution to “Image”[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2023, 6(2): 87-95. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20236205

Citation:

ZHANG Tongzhu. On the Divergence of Imagism and Pound's Contribution to “Image”[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2023, 6(2): 87-95. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20236205

ZHANG Tongzhu. On the Divergence of Imagism and Pound's Contribution to “Image”[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2023, 6(2): 87-95. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20236205

Citation:

ZHANG Tongzhu. On the Divergence of Imagism and Pound's Contribution to “Image”[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2023, 6(2): 87-95. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20236205

PDF( 1790 KB)

On the Divergence of Imagism and Pound's Contribution to “Image”

doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20236205

ZHANG Tongzhu^,

School of the Liberal Arts, Nantong University

Received Date: 2023-04-22
Accepted Date: 2023-05-15

Abstract

Abstract

Imagism played a key role in the development of modern English and American poetry. Hulme, Flint, Amy Lowell and others prepared for this movement, but there is no doubt that Pound was the most decisive character. As an excellent organizer, Pound built a momentum for the "Imagist school" by taking the journal Poetry as a model, and compiled "Des Imagistes." However, within the Imagist school, Pound became marginalized, which ultimately led to his departure. A few years later, the Imagist school came to an end. The article believes that this internal disagreement not only reflects an internal leadership dispute, but also reflects two core differences in the theoretical propositions of its members:whether to study only modern French poetic theory or also to study traditional Eastern poetry? Pound did not shy away from the French influence. The anthology published in 1914 directly adopted the French "Des Imagists" as its title. However, unlike Flint, he always denied that "Imagism" is subordinate to French Symbolism. Flint and Hulme(especially Hulme) were passionate advocates of Bergson's theory, and Hulme's advocacy of "image" as a poetic principle originated from Bergson's philosophy. Although Bergson valued "image," "image" is only an intermediary for him, ultimately leading to emotions and intuition. Following Bergson, Hulme regarded "image" as a kind of intermediary, and it was not until Pound that the "image" was seen as a unity of subjective emotions and objective objects with independent value, and thus it truly developed into "imagisme," becoming the "object" itself(subjective object). For this, Pound invented the French word "imagisme." So we infer that on the basis of Bergson and Hulme, Pound developed the concept of "image," granting it an independent theoretical status, thus promoting the development of poetics. The reason why Pound was able to further his understanding of "image" is due to his increasing understanding of Eastern culture and active absorption of its nutrients.
- Pound,
- Imagism,
- image,
- Imagisme

FullText(HTML)

References(16)

References

[1]	Bergson,Henri.Matter and Memory.New York:Zone Books,1991.
[2]	Flint,F.S. "The History of Imagism." Egoist 2,no.5(May 1915):70-72.
[3]	Hamilton,Scott.Ezra Pound and the symbolist inheritance.Princeton:Princeton University Press,1992.
[4]	Hulme,T.E.Further Speculations.Lincoln:University of Nebraska Press,1962.
[5]	——.Speculations.London:Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd.,1936.
[6]	Mallarmé,Stéphane.Divagations.Translated by Barbara Johnson.Massachusetts:Harvard University Press,2009.
[7]	Parisi,Joseph,and Stephen Young.Dear Editor.New York:W.W.Norton and Company,2002.
[8]	Perkins,David.A History of Modern Poetry.Cambridge,Mass:Belknap Press of Harvard University Press,1976-1987.
[9]	Pound,Ezra.Early Writings:Poems and Prose.Edited by Ira B.Nadel.New York and London:Penguin,2005.
[10]	——.Ezra Pound's Poetry and Prose:Contributions to Periodicals.Vol.2.New York:Garland Publishing,Inc.1991.
[11]	——.Polite Essays.New York:Books For Libraries Press,1966.
[12]	——.Literary Essays of Ezra Pound.New York:New Directions,1954.
[13]	——.The Letters of Ezra Pound(1907-1941).London:Faber and Faber,1951.
[14]	Sinclair,May. "Two Notes." Egoist 2,no.6(June 1915):86-90.
[15]	(法)柏格森:《时间与自由意志》,吴士栋译,北京:商务印书馆,2005年。[Bergson,Henri.Shijian yu ziyou yizhi(Time and Free Will).Translated by WU Shidong.Beijing:The Commercial Press,2005.]
[16]	——:《形而上学导言》,刘放桐译,北京:商务印书馆,1963年。[——.Xingershangxue daoyan(An Introduction to Metaphysics).Translated by LIU Fangtong.Beijing:The Commercial Press,1963.]