Identifying Modern metaphors in Modernist poems

 

Modernist Poems : Modern Metaphors

"The image is not an idea. It is a radiant node or cluster… a VORTEX"

Above statement by Ezra Pounds demonstrates that Image is not limited, but the reflection of image is unlimited. The use of the word Vortex suggests that through which, in which ideas are constantly flowing. So, what does the writer mean by Vortex is that once you use any image it is circulating in the flaw, and with that it denotes different meaning to that image, and the center of these all descriptions is only one Image. So, the use of images makes poetry more effective, this is what modernist poets believe. So, Imagism is the central characteristic of Modernist poems.

Imagism is a movement which flourished in the end of the 19th century and early in the 20th century. It is the movement of poetry, which influenced the Anglo-American poetry of the age. Imagism is a type of poetry which emphasizes a more precise and clear image, instead of long description of images. 

T. E. Hulme is considered as the Father of Imagism who developed these kinds of poetry during 1908, but after that in 1912 Ezra Pound coined the term called 'Imagism', by interpreting one of the works of Hilda Doolittle as the use of imagism in it. Ezra Pound remarked that…

"An Image is an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time."

To write poetry with the use of images is not an easy task; you have to apply your intellectuals as well as your emotional parameters at the same time. So making an imaginary poem is a complex task. To write an imagist poem one should flow these three tenets or a kind of rules given by Ezra Pound….

1. Direct treatment of the subject.

2. Use no word that does not contribute to the presentation.

3. Compose in the rhythm of the musical phrase, not in the rhythm of the metronome.

So, This is the basic understanding of Imagist poems. Now have a look on how these images can be identified and can be defined with some of the examples of Modern short Poems.

Poem	Modern Metaphor/Imagery	Description
Once, in finesse of fiddles found IN ecstasy, In a flash of gold heels on the hard pavement. Now see I That warmth is the very stuff of poesy. Oh, God, make small The old star-eaten blanket of the sky, That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie. By T.E.Hulme	Finesse of fiddles flash of gold heels Old star-eaten blanket Juxtaposition of two complex imagery	This particular poem can be divided into two different worlds.. Rich-Poor Young-Old Desire-Need Fantasy-Reality The very first part of the poem consists of two lines which are in the past. It shows the luxurious life. Now it can be life of young man where he used to attend dance parties, It can be sexual desire of man to fulfill it he used to visit prostitute,It can be luxurious life of rich man who has a wealth, happiness and it also can be Fantasy world because in real life there is nothing like ecstasy.  Now the second part of the poem is in the present world where the Narrator understands the importance of warmth, when he feels the cold. And Request God to make a blanket for him. So, the poem depicts the homeless people of Embankment, who do not have houses to live in and the roof to fulfill their basic needs.
Darkness. I stop to watch a star shine in the boghole – A star no longer, but a silver ribbon of light. I look at it, and pass on. Joseph Campbell	Boghole:Depressive land Star: Brightness Darkness: Death, Sadness, Depression	The image of Sky is used to denote the 'Freedom' and of star to show brightness and hope in despair and misery.  But in this particular poem Star and Sky are normal, there is nothing new in it. Narrator said that I stop to watch a star in a boghole, so the Narrator wants to see how it feels when you achieve freedom, but after some time these things lose their charm and no longer remain beautiful. So, this all things once gave him pleasure now it is meaningless. So, the very idea of Star as bright and hope.is seems collapsing here.
Forsaken lovers, burning to a chaste white moon Upon strange Pyres of loneliness and draught Edward Storer	Chaste White Moon Loneliness Draught	The poem 'Image' by Edward Storer refers to the rise of individualism during the 20th century. What he wants to say by this poem is that there is a Forsaken Lover who had abandoned one one another and now they are burning on the pyre of loneliness and drought. They are alone, in Isolation and no friend or companion to share their feelings. So, Loneliness and Draught becomes the Modern Metaphor in this poem.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;      Petals on a wet, black bough. Ezra Pound	Apparition Petals Black-bough	Apparition means appearance or manifestation of appearance. But here the writer says the 'apparition of the faces in the crowd' by that perhaps he wants to show the ghost-like nature of human beings. By using petals he may mean the different faces of human beings like petals have different colors.  So, semicolons between two lines insist to make Comparison between two lines and it can be interpreted as the following… As the petals of tree and bough of tree after rain became black and wet and changed it's color in the same manner. People at metro stations in crowds have different appearances and different personalities which change time and again.
Are you alive? I touch you. You quiver like a sea-fish. I cover you with my net. What are you—banded one? Hilta Doolittle	The Pool: Free spirit of being which is binded by society.	This poem raises the question whether we are alive really or not? Because if we water in a pool it is static which is bounded by boundaries. Still water has no movement in it because it's borders don't allow water to flow smoothly. In the same manner 'Civilization', or Social noas and rules are the obstacles in human life which didn't allow him to live freely as he wanted. That's why poets ask here… Are you alive?  Why are you quivering like a sea-fish? What are you?(banded one means who is in the trap of Social taboos)
In and out of the dreary trenches,    Trudging cheerily under the stars,    I make for myself little poems Delicate as a flock of doves.    They fly away like white-winged doves.       Richard Aldington	Flock of Dove: New beginning, optimism	This is a very interesting poem which sings the song of Modern Poetry. Dreary trenches mean dull and descriptive forms of Victorian or Georgian poetry. So, What poet wants to say is that slowly and steadily I am moving forward and left behind the drapery style of Victorian poetry and developing a new form of poetry in which I find happiness and pleasure. SO, The word Flock of Dove denotes New beginning or step towards New style and new form, means entering into the new world of poetry.
They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens, And along the trampled edges of the street I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids Sprouting despondently at area gates. The brown waves of fog toss up to me Twisted faces from the bottom of the street, And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts An aimless smile that hovers in the air And vanishes along the level of the roofs. T.S.Eliot		This particular poem by T.S.Eliot represents the harsh reality of Poverty and of slum areas. And this all is witnessed by the Narrator of the poem by standing at the window in the early morning.
so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens William Carlos Williams	Wheelbarrow: A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles	This particular poem highlights the agrarian world. And the basic needs for agriculture are Wheelbarrow, Rain and Chicken. So, What makes this poem Modern poem is its spirit to turn towards Agrarian society. Depictions of ordinary things add a poem in the aura of Modern Poems Because the rise of Modernism and Industries during the first half of 20th century made the atmosphere chaotic, So get back Farming may help to live a peaceful life.
I placed a jar in Tennessee,    And round it was, upon a hill.    It made the slovenly wilderness    Surround that hill. The wilderness rose up to it, And sprawled around, no longer wild.    The jar was round upon the ground    And tall and of a port in the air. It took dominion everywhere.    The jar was gray and bare. It did not give of bird or bush,    Like nothing else in Tennessee. Wallace Stevens	Jar Tennessee	This poem is very hard to understand in single reading because the use of language is an esoteric, sophisticated use of language. This poem is very vague and confusing, we can't draw any conclusions at the end.
l(a le af fa ll s) one l Iness E.E.Cummings	Fall Loneliness	This particular poem is very short and with few fragmented words like...Leaf,fall and loneliness. So, what poem denotes is fall of human civilization and fall of morality and spirituality.  It also can be read with reference to the 20th century where people became more lonely and more alone.