Layered Language

Live in the layers,

not on the litter.
Stanley Kunitz

Ezra Pound
(1885-1972)

dichten = condensare
*

poetry = compactness or condensedness

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

An Aside: The poet, writing in 1913, was responding

in part to the introduction of haiku (initially translated
as hokku) into English. The earliest English haiku
were written, apparently, by a bilingual Japanese poet
named Yonejir Noguchi, who in 1904 published an
essay calling on American poets to embrace the form.
Pound wrote about the genesis of his poem three years
later, explaining that hed written a 30-line poem, then
cut it to 15 lines, beforea year latermaking the
poem as we have it.

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

If youve read a lot of haiku, you know that in the

Japanese tradition they are not titled. Pound could
easily have used this title as the first line of his poem,
though it still wouldnt adhere to the many rules the
Japanese classically apply to the form.
But the purpose of understanding layered language,
the title is significant.

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

Subway
system in
Paris

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Subway
system in
Paris

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Subway
system in
Paris

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Subway
system in
Paris

Balanced
equals (one
reason for
presenting the
first line as a
title)

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Subway
system in
Paris

Balanced
equals (one
reason for
presenting the
first line as a
title)

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

1) unexpected

sight
2) the act of
becoming
visible
3) ghostly figure
4) ghost or spirit
of a dead
person

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Subway
system in
Paris

Balanced
equals (one
reason for
presenting the
first line as a
title)

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

1) unexpected
sight
2) the act of
becoming
visible
3) ghostly figure
4) ghost or spirit
of a dead
person

Subway
system in
Paris

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Balanced
equals

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

1) unexpected

sight
2) ghostly figure
3) the act of
becoming
visible
4) ghost or spirit
of a dead
person

Subway
system in
Paris

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Balanced
equals

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

1) unexpected

sight
2) ghostly figure
3) the act of
becoming
visible
4) ghost or spirit
of a dead
person

Subway
system in
Paris

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

Balanced
equals
1) spring (rain)
2) beauty
3) renewal/rebirth

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

Subway
system in
Paris

1) unexpected
The apparition of these faces in
sight
2) the act of
Petals on a wet, black bough.
becoming
visible
3) ghostly figure
4) ghost or spirit
of a dead
person
First Line:
External World
(Perception)

the crowd;

Balanced
equals
1) spring (rain)
2) beauty
3) renewal/rebirth

Second Line:
Internal World
(Memory/
Imagination)

In a Station of the Metro

Ezra Pound

Subway
system in
Paris

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

External World (Perception)

Internal World (Memory/Imagination)

Layered Language

Living in the layers

means to keep the connection
between perception and imagination,
the outer world and the inner world,
healthy and strong.
This is the main purpose of poetry.

Layered Language

Another Aside: Our words for the two main

modes of writing, Prose and Poetry, create
confusion. This is because we associate prose
with paragraphs (words running evenly between
two distinct margins on the page) and poetry
with verse (words arranged in lines whose
length is determined by a strong meter or
cadence).

Layered Language

Definitions: 1
Prose = Language shaped primarily by logic
into sentences that strive for clarity,
directness, and intellectual force.
Poetry = Language shaped primarily by
imagination into sentences that strive for
complexity, suggestiveness, and emotional
force.

Layered Language

Definitions: 2
Paragraph = Sentences running between predefined left/right margins of a page and organized
to present logically coherent stages in argument or
description.
Verse = Sentences distributed across a page in ways
determined by rhythmic and/or visual intentions of
the poet to represent his or her imaginative
expression.

Layered Language

Bottom Line:
Both poetry and prose can exist in
either verse or paragraphs.

Layered Language