In a Station of the Metro: Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound’s poem “In a Station of the Metro” only contains 2 lines, but it symbolically represents the pros and cons of modernity. Urbanization is usually seen as a good notion. It allows us people to strive to better ourselves and tone down the complexity of life to a degree that we would find more convenient. “The apparition of these faces” is referring to an unusual or unexpected sight, almost ghostly figures. These faces see the advantage that they have in using the metro. It might be a bit uncomfortable squeezing in with a crowd of people but the metro has proved itself to be valid.
On the other hand, Pound’s poem can also be seen as anti-modernity. Urbanization can, to a degree, be of great help and importance to people. But, when it is over-used and fought over, it becomes unsatisfactory. The first line shows us the apparition of faces in the crowd, illuminating that these faces merely contain emotions or feelings. They are expressionless. They are thronged and pressed against each other to probably fill every single scope that is possible, that everyone who is on the metro may benefit from this modern world that they live in. Technology is made to simplify people’s lives. Ironically, at the end it is because of technology that makes this world so complicated. The metro is the cause of contentment and complication that is found within people in these tight crowds. It is useful in transporting people from one place to another, but the overpopulated little station can cause uneasiness and complications. Petals on a wet, black bough draw out the real simplicity of life. It is peaceful, a petal naturally budding on a bough that is wet from the rain. Nature often allows us to see the beauty in life and how effortless it is at times. We on the other hand choose technology to empower us and cloud our lives with perplexity. Sometimes the easiest way to go is avoiding those things that try to make our lives easier.
The words crowd and bough contrasts each other. In a crowd, it is compacted. A crowd is often given very little space to move freely. In a way, it traps the individual and everyone that surrounds him. Although it seems like that individual is the only one that is bounded it is the whole group as one that is webbed together. In contrast, a bough grows from a tree. All the branches emerge from one trunk, but they grow freely in which ever direction that it takes them.
Ezra Pound’s poem “In a Station of the Metro” only contains 2 lines, but it symbolically represents the pros and cons of modernity. Urbanization is usually seen as a good notion. It allows us people to strive to better ourselves and tone down the complexity of life to a degree that we would find more convenient. “The apparition of these faces” is referring to an unusual or unexpected sight, almost ghostly figures. These faces see the advantage that they have in using the metro. It might be a bit uncomfortable squeezing in with a crowd of people but the metro has proved itself to be valid.
On the other hand, Pound’s poem can also be seen as anti-modernity. Urbanization can, to a degree, be of great help and importance to people. But, when it is over-used and fought over, it becomes unsatisfactory. The first line shows us the apparition of faces in the crowd, illuminating that these faces merely contain emotions or feelings. They are expressionless. They are thronged and pressed against each other to probably fill every single scope that is possible, that everyone who is on the metro may benefit from this modern world that they live in. Technology is made to simplify people’s lives. Ironically, at the end it is because of technology that makes this world so complicated. The metro is the cause of contentment and complication that is found within people in these tight crowds. It is useful in transporting people from one place to another, but the overpopulated little station can cause uneasiness and complications. Petals on a wet, black bough draw out the real simplicity of life. It is peaceful, a petal naturally budding on a bough that is wet from the rain. Nature often allows us to see the beauty in life and how effortless it is at times. We on the other hand choose technology to empower us and cloud our lives with perplexity. Sometimes the easiest way to go is avoiding those things that try to make our lives easier.
The words crowd and bough contrasts each other. In a crowd, it is compacted. A crowd is often given very little space to move freely. In a way, it traps the individual and everyone that surrounds him. Although it seems like that individual is the only one that is bounded it is the whole group as one that is webbed together. In contrast, a bough grows from a tree. All the branches emerge from one trunk, but they grow freely in which ever direction that it takes them.
images: www.robbarron.co.uk/macro.htm
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