TOO

The homophones thing is getting old to me as well...


Where to begin... How about with a little Ezra Pound action? I could go with the obvious classic "A Pact" since that is one of the most talked about poems in upper division English classes, yeah I will. The thing that strikes me about this particular work is that it seems to be fueled with emotional passion as well as artistic passion. The voice of the poet is bullheaded, charging head first at Whitman, as well as intellectual. "We have one sap and one root" is a marvelous line. In a Station of the Metro is more toward the beginning English class. The simplicity is wonderfully mastered and by executing in such a detailed way, I wonder whether he is reaching for some type of deeper simplicity within his own life. The Temperaments was my favorite of the poems merely for the opening line "Nine adulteries, 12 liasons, 64 fornications and something approaching a rape" you don't find too many lines like that in 1917.


Stevens

I have heard of Stevens but never really got into the work. Domination of Black is a beautiful piece. The constant repetition (turning and wind and flame images) give so many vivid pictures to the reader. By constantly using a word like turning, instead spinning, Stevens gives grace to the poem and grace to the several objects mentioned. Anecdote of the Jar, a poem about nature vs. man, is very famous. Personally,I don't see the allure of the poem, but I can give credit to where it is due.

Williams

Of all of the Poets we were assigned, William Carlos Williams was my favorite before opening the book. The Red Wheelbarrow is overused in classes from the Elementary level on as a good depiction of imagery and object focus, yet This is Just to Say is more marvelous. The "note on the refrigerator" is so simple that it cannot be duplicated. The third stanza "Forgive me they were delicious, so sweet, and so cold" is the only 'feeling' within the note, but if you have eaten a delicious poem, these 10 words are enough to accurately describe the taste. I also enjoyed the slenderness (if thats a word) of the WCW poems (not to be confused with the old wrestling franchise). All o his poems look so neat and tidy on the page and visual appeal is half the battle.