A Review of "Machine Art and Other Writings: The Lost Thought of the Italian Years" Essays by Ezra Pound"Modern man can live and should live in his cities and machine shops with the same kind of swing and exuberance that the savage is supposed to have in his forest."
Ezra Pound in Workshop Orchestration Machine Art"Machine Art" is the first essay in the collection "Machine Art & Other Writings," essays of Ezra Pound collected by Maria Luis Ardizzone. "Machine Art" is an argument for structure and form. Let us take a look at machines. Even better, let us discuss small lawn mower engines. I am somewhat familiar with small lawn mower engines. First, we have a concept of what task we want the machine to accomplish. An engineer will draw up a schematic of parts that when put together will function as the driving force behind the lawnmower. Within this initial schematic the engineer will use math to determine the precise details necessary for each part to fit together as a functional whole. He/she will usually include precise measurements on the schematic with drawings of how each part fits together with the next. The smallest deviation from measurement will make the part not fit and ultimately the machine will not function as required. After the engineer has drawn schematics for each part and the engine as a whole the plans will be sent to a machinist. The machinist will use tools to ensure that each part is created according to the schematic. If care is not taken to ensure that each part is cut to the precise specifications the part may not fit in the whole and the engine will not run. According to Pound the beauty of the machine is in the precision of its parts. Each part holds a beauty of it's own that when combined creates a functional whole. |
Pound believed that poetry is the machine after the parts have been assembled. He argued that each part needs to be engineered to fit into the whole and that care needs to be taken with each measurement. He argued that when attention is paid to the workings of the cogs and flywheels the engine will purr. This could be the lines of each stanza filling a quatrain, the use of internal rhyme in a work of free verse or any number of things. Many poetic forms are already broken down into parts, and many of the parts have a cause. The practice of centering attention on each cog of the poem can be learned through thinking about form and structure as you write. Be the engineer and the machinist of your poem. Start from the schematic and machine each part to perfection and the end result will contain the beauty of the effort. Pound's Three Poeia Another essay in this collection is entitled "How to Write." This essay is an in depth look at what Pound calls the three different types of poetry. I feel that the three Poeia's not only describe three different types of poetry but describe three poetic ideals that can strengthen any poem. The first Poeia is Melopeia. Melopeia is the introducing of emotion through sound and rhythm. He states that a good poem should be "composed in the sequence of the melodic phrase and in the sequence of a metronome." Modern poetry has moved away from any sing song patterns of rhythm but still uses Melopeia extensively and should not be ignored when composing. A good example of Melopeia in action would be in Hip Hop. The second Poeia is Phanopoeia. Phanopoeia is the act of throwing an image into the imagination. The imagist poets worked extensively on this and William Carlos William's "The Red Wheelbarrow" is probably one of the best examples of Phanopoeia out there. According to Pound good poetry uses Phanopoeia directly and this "direct treatment of the thing whether objective or subjective" is necessary. The third Poeia is Logopoeia. Logopoeia means to use words for more than their direct meaning. Think about your word choice and find words that can encapsulate many things to broaden the meaning and context of the situation being described. According to Pound only use these words and that all other words that do not contribute to the poem should be removed. |
In Conclusion
Thinking about the cogs of your poem and thinking where the three Poeias fit in your poem will help to strengthen the end product.
I hope that I have given you some helpful insight and maybe driven you to pick up a collection of Ezra Pound Poems to read.
Thinking about the cogs of your poem and thinking where the three Poeias fit in your poem will help to strengthen the end product.
I hope that I have given you some helpful insight and maybe driven you to pick up a collection of Ezra Pound Poems to read.
"Modern man can live and should live in his cities and machine shops with the same kind of swing and exuberance that the savage is supposed to have in his forest."
Ezra Pound in Workshop Orchestration
Ezra Pound in Workshop Orchestration