Analysis Of Ezra Pound's Out Of The Modernist Movement

Beginning in the early twentieth century, the modernist movement in poetry came into view. Many of these poems focused on the themes of World War I; the effects on cities and the people, the changing political and economic climate, and any advancements that may have taken place because of the war. This movement brought along poets such as Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams. Out of the modernist movement came the imagist movement which was helmed by Ezra Pound. The imagist movement was created to directly describe the image the poem was portraying as clear and concise as possible without adding major symbolism throughout the piece (294). These poems were more concerned with the “direct treatment of the ‘thing’” than the meaning if the thing itself (294). …show more content…
Williams tended to write about things and situations he saw in everyday life often creating a simple image or scene. While William Carlos Williams may have been a few years late from the peak of imagism, and differed slightly from the creator, Ezra Pound, his contributions have not gone unnoticed. In the year 1917, William Carlos Williams published a poem entitled Chinese Nightingale. This poem is composed of three lines that is meant to be read as a single, compound sentence disregarding the natural breaks in the lines. The poem portrays a simple man working in a shop, but is portrayed in a very elegant yet concise way. The poem starts off by telling the reader the time of day, “Long before dawn your light/Shone in the window” (“Chinese Nightingale” lines 1-2). This explanation is short and direct. These lines explain in few words that it is very early in the morning and the sun has yet to rise. The time of day is very important to this piece as it sets the tone for the following lines. Because the setting is set around four or five