Imagism and Imagist Poets

1. Imagism and Imagist Poets “An image is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant in time.” – Ezra Pound

2. Imagism • The Imagist movement of the 20th century included both English and American poets. • Written in free verse • Short-lived movement starting 1912 and ending in 1918 • Strand of Modernism – which was a movement that made a conscious break from the past and its literary structure. • Devoted to the “clarity of expression through use of precise visual images” • It was influenced by Chinese and Japanese poetry, like haiku and tanka, which evoke emotional responses

3. The Imagist Manifesto • #1: “To use the language of common speech, but employ always the exact word, not the nearly exact, nor the merely decorative word.” • So what does this mean? Imagists expressed the essence of an object, person, or incident without providing an explanation. • There is no interpretation needed in Imagist poems. They mean exactly what they say.

4. The Poets of the Imagist Movement • Ezra Pound was born in 1885 in Idaho. • He taught at Wabash College for two years then travelled to Europe where he became interested in Chinese and Japanese poetry • In 1914, he moved to Italy and became involved in the Fascist movement which caused him to be arrested for treason • In 1946 he was released from prison after being declared mentally ill • He died in Venice in 1972.

5. The Poets of the Imagist Movement • William Carlos Williams was born in 1883. • Before and while involved in the Imagist movement, his primary occupation was a pediatrician in New Jersey. • Believed his experiences as a pediatrician helped him find inspiration as a poet • The focus of his poetry was on capturing the essence of modern American life by showing ordinary people, objects, and experiences • Received the Pulitzer in 1963 for his final volume of poetry • Died that year from a heart attack

6. The Poets of the Imagist Movement • H.D (Hilda Doolittle) was born in Pennsylvania in 1886 • She met Pound and became involved in the Imagist movement at the age of 15 • Her early poetry was based after Greek lyrics which emphasized light, color, and physical texture of objects • Later work was more focused on World Wars I and II and the ideas of the human psyche based on the work of Sigmund Freud • She died in 1961.