Style Of Writing

Ezra Pound was one of the 20^th century’s most influential voices in American and English literature. Pound advanced a “modern” movement in both literature's  His pro-Fascist broadcasts in Italy during WWII led to his arrest and confinement until 1958 for which his writings are still judged by. His contribution to poetry began with his promotion Imagism, a movement that derived its technique from classical Chinese and Japanese poetry, stressing clarity, precision and economy of language called ‘haiku’.

In 1912, Pound helped create a movement that he and others called “Imagism”, which signalled a new literary direction for the poet. At the core of Imagism, was a push to set a more direct course with language, shedding the sentiment that had so wholly shaped Victorian and Romantic poetry  Imagism favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language; it was described as the most influential movement in English poetry. Pound rejected the sentiment and discursiveness typical of much Romantic and Victorian poetry.

Precision and economy were highly valued by Pound and the other proponents of the movement, which included F. S. Flint, William Carlos William, Amy Lowell, Richard Aldington and Hilda Doolittle. Imagism reflected the changes happening in other art forms, most notably painting and the Cubists. But Pound’s connection to Imagism was short-lived. After just a few years, he stepped aside, frustrated when he couldn't secure total control of the movement from Lowell and the others.

Pound believed himself to be an optimist, who in a fashion outlined his hopes for a dream society where art and culture was king. His legacy to literature is such that no matter what his controversial views, he remains one of the most studied artists of the twentieth century.