Search results
A brief introduction to a modernist epic Ezra Pound’s colossal work of modernist poetry, The Cantos, runs to nearly 800 pages and took him over half his life to write – and even then, he never finished it.
- Summary
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Detailed Analysis
- Similar Poetry
In this section of The Odyssey, Pound translates Odysseus’ journey into the realm of the dead. He speaks briefly on Circe’s island, what the trip along the sea is like, and then about the edges of the earth. There, he seeks out information about what’s going to happen in the next part of his journey. In the underworld, Odysseus runs into one of his...
‘Canto I’ by Ezra Pound is a long three-stanza poem that is translated from the Ancient Greek. Pound, in order to maintain as much of the original’s structure as possible, looked to Old English meter (known today as an accentual meter) in order to structure the lines. This means that he focuses on the stressed syllables entirely. The unstressed syl...
Pound makes use of several literary devices in his translation of this part of Homer’s The Odyssey. These include but are not limited to, examples of alliteration, enjambment, and imagery. The latter is one of the literary devices for which Pound is remembered today. As an imagist, the imagery was always of the utmost importance to him. There are s...
Stanza Two
The second stanza is far shorter than the first. In it, Odysseus conveys what happened to his friend. He got drunk one night and fell and broke his neck while climbing down a ladder. He broke his skull and his spine, and his soul “sought Avernus” or entry into the underworld. Elpenor asks his friend to sail back to Circe’s island and take care of his body properly. Therefore he won’t have to stay in limbo for the rest of eternity.
Readers who enjoyed the first canto of The Cantos should also look into some of Pound’s other best-known poems. These include ‘In a Station at the Metro’,‘The River Merchant’s Wife’, and ‘The Garden’. Some other related poems include ‘On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer’ by John Keats and ‘Odysseus to Telemachus’ by Joseph Brodsky. The former was...
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Mar 9, 2017 · The content of Canto I can be summarised as follows: Odysseus narrates how he and his crew sailed to Hades to have their fortunes told by Tiresias, the blind seer. While in the Underworld, Odysseus sees the shade of Elpenor, a young man who had previously sailed with Odysseus.
These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Ezra Pound's poetry. Ezra Pound: Poems study guide contains a biography of Ezra Pound, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Dive into The Cantos by Ezra Pound, a monumental poem that showcases Pound's complex style and thematic depth. Explore the literary brilliance and challenging narrative that define this epic work.
Dive deep into Ezra Pound's The Cantos with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion
People also ask
Did Ezra Pound write The Cantos?
What are Ezra Pound poems essays?
What is Canto I by Ezra Pound about?
What techniques does Ezra Pound use in the Cantos?
This study guide for Ezra Pound's The Cantos offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.
