Assignment 7

How Ezra Pound defines "image"

The image is the poet’s pigment. The image is not an idea; it is a radiate node or cluster, a vortex through which and from which and into which ideas are constantly rushing. It is as true for painting and sculpture as it is for poetry.

Personally, I like to break the lines based on how I read it when I go over what I had just written/ thought in my mind. This is the method Edward Hirsh also mentioned in his handout. I think it is the easiest and most efficient way to create pauses and dramatic effect, as well as create a setting for the flow and narrative. Another method I like to use when breaking the lines in my poems, is I think about the implication I am trying to get out of it. For instance, thinking of why I would add a pause in that area, or if I changed stanzas here would the way it was being read be improved. I don't tend to use a consistent way to break lines (though I don't believe I have written enough poetry to make such a remark), as I believe that adding these pauses can really enhance the poem and make it much more entertaining to be read. In a lot of cases, the way it is read can also change the meaning of the poem, which is such a powerful tool to use. I understand that the consistent rhythm also adds to the poem, though I personally enjoy reading ones with interesting breakage more.

Imagist Poems

Bread II

I
Moist dough

mixed with milk and sugar and yeast

you are not yet

Dough.

II
Gentle dough
   being beaten back and forth
                                                         until
                                                                              supple.

III

Fluffy dough
Pressed with two fingers
deep into your being,
Till you won't be able to
Rise Again.

IV
Soft dough

Thickens, Grows, Rises,
Rose.

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