Power of Brief Images In a Station at the Metro.
Ezra Pound in the extraordinarily short poem, In a Station at the Metro, conveys a portrait of human existence that is both clear and contradictory. It is simultaneously clear and contradictory because, as the poem is read over and over again, a series of different interpretations arise. Read a certain way, the poem seems almost hopeful and a beautiful testament to the business of human activity and the meaningfulness of human existence. Read another way, however, the poem can be viewed as a more somber commentary as to the dreariness and the static nature of human existence which inevitably results in a death to which even the ghosts or the apparitions are bound for eternity. This reaction paper will discuss how this brief poem suggests different interpretations and how these different interpretations are fundamentally grounded in the images created by the poets choice of words and their placement within the poems overall structure.
As an initial matter, while it is fair to argue that a title and a poems substantive content are independent features, this poem is nevertheless strongly informed by its title. Before the reader even proceeds to the poem itself, the title confronts the reader with a variety of possibilities. A metro, for example, evokes images of a bustling population center with people coming from all facets of life. There must be rich businessman hurrying off the business meetings, government officials attending to their public duties, and even members of the lower classes hawking newspapers or other wares. When the poet more precisely defines the focus of the metro to be presented in the poem, in this case a station, the human element is merged with machinery and notions of time and transportation. These busy people are going somewhere, perhaps arriving, and the reader may begin to view this setting as being quite similar to an army of ants attending to their daily food collection and food preservation duties. From the title, preparing to proceed to the substantive portion of the poem, the reader is struck by a notion of crowded people and a business of purpose that precludes leisure or idle reflection. Movement and purpose are the dominant images.
Almost immediately, however, the poet qualifies or defines the anticipated crowds by characterizing them as being akin to apparitions. This is foreboding as apparitions of basically defined as being ghosts or as being a type of image of a person that is deceased. The reader is therefore compelled, the second word into the poem, to consider whether this characterization is literal or figurative. A literal interpretation being unlikely, perhaps impossible, it becomes the readers challenge to determine the figurative intent of a comparison between the people making up the crowd and death. This hardly seems a hopeful condition, perhaps hinting at the meaningless or the briefness of human life, and the readers considered reaction may very well be one of dismay. Additional reflection, on the other hand, might yield a more hopeful interpretation of this figurative language more specifically, perhaps the poet instead intended to portray the durability and the advancement of the human race by showing the modern crowd as representing the perseverance and evolution of human beings.
When the title is read together with the poems first line, in short, the apparition image tends to prevail and it does imply and conjure up images of lost time and death. Interestingly, the apparition is further reduced to reflecting only faces rather than bodies. The poet thereby draws some distinction between the complete bodies moving through the station and the apparitions which are limited to faces. Faces, being more discernable and more readily identifiable than legs or arms, this word choice suggests that maybe the poet was trying to speak directly to the reader. This is because a face is very personal, it emphasizes individuality in a crowd, and it is consequently plausible to conclude that the poet is warning the reader not to become lost in crowds because life is short and death is inevitable. The second line of the poem reinforces this interpretation, that individuals should embrace the beauties of life, by using petals as a reference to wonderful features of life and the wet, black bough to represent the passing of time, withering, and the inevitability of death.
There is therefore a consistency in the poems imagery, from beauty and human individuality, that seems to be connected to the human life span. The most reasonable interpretation would seem to be one in which the poet celebrated the gift of life and lamented the passing in time. The most reasonable lesson to derived from the poem, and inextricably linked to the aforementioned interpretation, is that people should pursue their individual interests and not be afraid to step away from the crowd because life is precious and time is very brief.
As an initial matter, while it is fair to argue that a title and a poems substantive content are independent features, this poem is nevertheless strongly informed by its title. Before the reader even proceeds to the poem itself, the title confronts the reader with a variety of possibilities. A metro, for example, evokes images of a bustling population center with people coming from all facets of life. There must be rich businessman hurrying off the business meetings, government officials attending to their public duties, and even members of the lower classes hawking newspapers or other wares. When the poet more precisely defines the focus of the metro to be presented in the poem, in this case a station, the human element is merged with machinery and notions of time and transportation. These busy people are going somewhere, perhaps arriving, and the reader may begin to view this setting as being quite similar to an army of ants attending to their daily food collection and food preservation duties. From the title, preparing to proceed to the substantive portion of the poem, the reader is struck by a notion of crowded people and a business of purpose that precludes leisure or idle reflection. Movement and purpose are the dominant images.
Almost immediately, however, the poet qualifies or defines the anticipated crowds by characterizing them as being akin to apparitions. This is foreboding as apparitions of basically defined as being ghosts or as being a type of image of a person that is deceased. The reader is therefore compelled, the second word into the poem, to consider whether this characterization is literal or figurative. A literal interpretation being unlikely, perhaps impossible, it becomes the readers challenge to determine the figurative intent of a comparison between the people making up the crowd and death. This hardly seems a hopeful condition, perhaps hinting at the meaningless or the briefness of human life, and the readers considered reaction may very well be one of dismay. Additional reflection, on the other hand, might yield a more hopeful interpretation of this figurative language more specifically, perhaps the poet instead intended to portray the durability and the advancement of the human race by showing the modern crowd as representing the perseverance and evolution of human beings.
When the title is read together with the poems first line, in short, the apparition image tends to prevail and it does imply and conjure up images of lost time and death. Interestingly, the apparition is further reduced to reflecting only faces rather than bodies. The poet thereby draws some distinction between the complete bodies moving through the station and the apparitions which are limited to faces. Faces, being more discernable and more readily identifiable than legs or arms, this word choice suggests that maybe the poet was trying to speak directly to the reader. This is because a face is very personal, it emphasizes individuality in a crowd, and it is consequently plausible to conclude that the poet is warning the reader not to become lost in crowds because life is short and death is inevitable. The second line of the poem reinforces this interpretation, that individuals should embrace the beauties of life, by using petals as a reference to wonderful features of life and the wet, black bough to represent the passing of time, withering, and the inevitability of death.
There is therefore a consistency in the poems imagery, from beauty and human individuality, that seems to be connected to the human life span. The most reasonable interpretation would seem to be one in which the poet celebrated the gift of life and lamented the passing in time. The most reasonable lesson to derived from the poem, and inextricably linked to the aforementioned interpretation, is that people should pursue their individual interests and not be afraid to step away from the crowd because life is precious and time is very brief.
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