Transnational Imagination of China in Ezra Pound’s and William Carlos Williams’ Poetics

Tang Wei

doi:10.11648/j.ellc.20210601.12

Abstract

As a modernist movement in poetry emphasizing the clarity of expression through the use of precise visual images, Imagism drew inspiration from the poetic forms of different countries, among which an influential one was Chinese poetry. As the pioneer of the movement, Ezra Pound is noted for his profound interest in Chinese ideograph and skillful appropriation of Chinese poetry in his own works which inspire and influence a host of American poets of the Modern period including William Carlos Williams. Though Pound and Williams were both labelled as imagist poets, they departed from each other in their later poetics. Researchers have long noticed this departure, but paid scant attention to the influence of Chinese poetry on it. This paper is intended to conduct a study on the influence of Pound’s and Williams’ transnational imagination of China on their poetics which leads to two opposing directions in dealing with Chinese poetry and culture in modern American poetry. It tries to point out that, while Pound’s appropriation of classical Chinese poetry and traditional Confucian culture is in the purpose of renovating post-Victorian poetic style and attaining a cosmopolitan poetics, Williams’ appropriation of Chinese poetry focuses more on refining stylistic techniques and enhancing an objectivist poetics to better accommodate the local American imageries and colloquial American English.

Highlights

In Ezra Pound Among the Poet, Thomas Parkinson asserts the relations between Pound and Williams have a rich complexity that gives them symbolic importance in the history of American poetry
It tries to point out that while Pound’s appropriation of classical Chinese poetry and traditional Confucian culture is in the purpose of renovating post-Victorian poetic style and attaining a cosmopolitan poetics, Williams’ appropriation of China focuses more on refining stylistic techniques and enhancing an objectivist poetics to better accommodate the local American imageries and colloquial American English
As the leading poets of modern American poetry, both Pound and Williams were greatly influenced by classical Chinese poetry

Summary

Introduction

In Ezra Pound Among the Poet, Thomas Parkinson asserts the relations between Pound and Williams have a rich complexity that gives them symbolic importance in the history of American poetry. Fu Hao, in another article, argues that Pound’s and Elliot’s poetry couldn’t get rid of the influence of traditional European poetry and are conservative and backward-looking, while Williams’ poetry focuses on American locality and seeks a new poetic style for colloquial American English, which is innovative and forward-looking [3]. While both Pound and Williams evinced profound interest in classical Chinese poetry and traditional Chinese culture, they displayed a lot of difference in ways of understanding and borrowing from China. It tries to point out that while Pound’s appropriation of classical Chinese poetry and traditional Confucian culture is in the purpose of renovating post-Victorian poetic style and attaining a cosmopolitan poetics, Williams’ appropriation of China focuses more on refining stylistic techniques and enhancing an objectivist poetics to better accommodate the local American imageries and colloquial American English

Pound’s Imagination of China and His Cosmopolitan Poetics

Williams’ Imagination of China and His Objectivist Poetics

Conclusion