Although “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound is a very short poem, I realized very quickly that it was not lacking in imagery. With the help of our assignment guidelines, I was also able to pick up on the two contrasting views for pro-modernism and anti-modernism.
Pound’s poem can be seen in the eyes of pro-modernity with the help of the word “apparition” in line one, as well as the word “Petals” in the second line of the poem. Apparitions are most often referred to as ghosts or unfamiliar objects, and looking with a pro-modernity perspective, the apparition of faces is an amazing sight to look upon. The speaker is amazed at all the people in the metro, and this goes to support technological advances in transportation. The “Petals” can also be used to support pro-modernity as the speaker views each person in the metro as an individual petal of a flower. Flowers are frequently used as a symbol of beauty, so someone may interpret the speaker comparing the people with petals of a flower in order to show the beauty of nature and how urbanization and industrialization are advancing nature’s beauty.
On the contrary, one may also see an anti-modernity theme in “In a Station of the Metro.” The “apparition,” or ghostly figures can be interpreted as an evil sighting, with the ghosts being full of malicious intent. Ghosts are seldom seen as beautiful, and one may believe the speaker mentions these beings in order to bring about thoughts of how urbanization leads to the destruction of nature. This claim can also go along with the second line, “Petals on a wet, black bough.” The fact that the petals are black results in feelings of death and wickedness. The movement of urbanization and industrialization may be leading to the deaths of all the people in the crowd at the metro. The adjective “wet,” in line two also makes one perceive a feeling of a gloomy, rainy day at the metro, casting a pessimistic outlook on the modernism movement.
Rich, Adrienne. “Diving into the Wreck”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. Allison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, Kelly J. Mays.-9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.
Link for flower image:
Link for subway image:
Kyle, I like your choice of flower. It's a zania--they are awesome! Keep on bloggin. hehehe
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