Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot on Modernism Essay Example For Students

Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot on Modernism Essay On Ezra Pounds quote on modernism, he claims that quot;the modern age wants a literature that reflects an image of itself: quot;acceleratedquot; and mass produced (quot;a mould in plaster/Made with no loss of time) as well as superficial. quot; This means that todays society wants a literature that resembles itself, fast paced and shallow. Society want literature that is direct and straightforward simply because people find it too quot;time consumingquot; to think for themselves. They would rather resort to the quot;workquot; already being done for them. Instead of experiencing the true beauty of literature and the arts, they would rather use quot;Cliffs Notes (quot;the classics in paraphrasequot;). quot; As a result of various quot;time savers,quot; the people of the modern age are left without the feelings that only reading the literature itself would provide. The people are hollow, dehumanized, and utterly superficial. Society lacks creativity and originality. The people are left numbed in the sea of clones. They fail to give acknowledgement or praise to those who do dare to be different and unique. Instead, they are cast out from society for being different. Ezra Pound states that, quot;Introspection (quot;the obscure reveries/of the inward gazequot;) in this age is unthinkable. quot; This means that the people are afraid to examine their own thoughts and feeling because they are afraid of what they will see. T. S. Eliots works, quot;Preludes,quot; quot;The Hollow Men,quot; and quot; The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrockquot; substantiate Ezra Pounds statement. quot;Preludes,quot; by T. S. Eliot, is a literary work depicting city life. Although it was written some time ago, it contains a universal theme and is applicable even in todays world. Eliot expresses the lonely, isolationist environment of the city. The people of the city seem dull, dreary, fatigued, and lifeless. The city dwellers repeat their daily mechanical routines; there is no change or break in the cycle. They come home tired and worn out from a days work, sleep, wake up, head towards coffee stands for a jolt of energy, and off they are to work again. Eliot expresses that people put on false fronts so that people do not feel the hostility or alienation that is present. They have a need to conform, quot;With the other masquerades/That time resumes. quot; The people live sordid lives, filled with corruption, and distorted morals. The mention of the prostitute in stanza three, shows that lack of love in the city. In addition, it illustrates the filth and corruption of the city. There is no depth of passion in anything. The city dwellers are treated as one in this poem. This shows that there is a lack of originality. This is emphasized by Eliots use of synecdoche, such as: quot;With all its muddy feet that press/To early coffee-standsquot; and quot;One thinks of all the hands/That are raising dingy shades. quot; Everyone is the same; they are all clones of each other. There is no depth or feeling in this society. Everything is mechanical or physical, there are no connections established between the people. Just as Ezra Pound claims that quot;Introspection (quot;the obscure reveries/of the inward gazequot;) in this age is unthinkable,quot; there is a loss of identity and the depletion of moral values in the city. As a result of the worlds harshness, innocent children are forced to suffer as Eliot expresses, quot;The notion of some infinitely gentle/Infinitely suffering thing. quot; The monotonous tone contributes to the dreary, lifelessness of Eliots city. The city dwellers are perpetually empty. They are truly the living dead because their life consists of the same daily mechanical actions. In quot;The Hollow Men,quot; Eliot expresses that quot;We are the hollow men. quot; He conveys the emptiness of people due to their lack of souls in todays world. The hollow men are superficial and have no depth. .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 , .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .postImageUrl , .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 , .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1:hover , .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1:visited , .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1:active { border:0!important; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1:active , .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1 .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udd7b9ee9f2c1fdb92b2a768ccfc4cbe1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Drugs And Crime EssayWhen the hollow men say, quot;We whisper together/Are quiet and meaningless,quot; it shows how they are afraid to show how they feel. Like the city dwellers of quot;Preludes,quot; the hollow men do not make connections with other people because they fear people will be troubled at what they really are. The hollow men are afraid to reveal their true being; this is parallel to quot;Preludes. quot; Eliot states that, quot;Let me also wear Such deliberate disguises Rats coat, crowskin, crossed staves In a field Behaving as the wind behaves No nearer. quot; This means that the hollow men wear disguises and try to behave as everyone else behaves to conceal t hemselves. They have the desire to be creative, knowledgeable, to be loved, to love, and to communicate. However, Eliot states that there is a barrier that stops them, quot;Falls the Shadow. quot; This barrier is their lack of soul, their fear of rejection, and their lack of will power. Eliot perverts a church rhyme into quot;Here we go round the prickly pear Prickly pear prickly pear Here we go round the prickly pear At five oclock in the morning. quot; He also separates the Lords prayer into various parts, such as, quot;For Thine is the Kingdom. quot; This shows that although the hollow men (or people in general) look to religion for comfort, religion will not save or help them. The ambiance that Eliot creates gives emphasis to the lifelessness of the hollow men. Ezra Pound states that modern age wants a literature that is quot;prose rather than a poetic picture. quot; This shows that there is a lack of creativity and individuality. Eliot states that there is a lack of substance in the hollow men by saying, quot;Shape without form, shade without colour, /Paralysed force, gesture without motion. quot; There are strong uses of synecdoche present in quot;The Hollow Men. quot; The most evident and vivid use of synecdoche is in his description of the eyes, quot;Those who have crossed/with direct eyes, to deaths other Kingdom,quot; and quot;Eyes I dare not meet in dreams/In deaths dream Kingdom. quot; The use of eye synecdoche represents the fear in the hollow men in revealing themselves. They hollow men have no eyes because of their lack of souls. There is no love in the city, quot;lips that would kissquot; shows the emptiness of the hollow men and their lack of emotions and feelings. This substantiates Pounds statement because it shows modern ages superficiality in the hollow men. Prufrock in quot;The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrockquot; by T. S. Eliot expresses his need to conform at a social event. He is afraid to show his true self, quot;To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet,quot; and wants to blend in at the social gathering. He shows that the people at this gathering are superficial because they judge him by his appearance. In the seventh stanza, Prufrock expresses his self-consciousness, quot;With a bald spot in the middle of my hair/ quot;, and quot;quot; quot;And time for all the woks and days of hands / That lift and drop a question on your plate;quot; shows that the conversations that are present have no depth or meaning. According to Pound, modern age wants literature that is superficial like the people at this event are superficial. The conversations present are similar to quot;better lies than Cliffs Notes,quot; they are insignificant and Prufrock is unable to make connections with anyone. Prufrock says, quot;I have measured out my life in coffee spoons,quot; showing that his life is meaningless, small, and insignificant. This substantiates what Pound stated that quot;the modern age wants literature that reflects an image of itself: quot;acceleratedquot; and mass produced (quot;a mould in plaster / Made with no loss of timequot;). .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea , .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .postImageUrl , .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea , .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea:hover , .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea:visited , .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea:active { border:0!important; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea:active , .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u21f87389d2c6d59631e4476f612fe8ea:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Behaviors and Theories EssayIt shows that modern age wants literature that is insignificant just as modern age is insignificant. Ezra Pound expressed that instead of thinking for themselves, people of the modern age would prefer literature that is in plain, and regular speech that is vague and without meaning. Todays society does not think for itself. The beauty, emotions, and feelings are taken away from the arts by the superficiality of modern age. With T. S. Eliots works substantiating Pounds statement emphasis is put on our society being filled with hollow, soulless people.