Imagism

Imagism

             The term imagism is consisted from the root word ‘Image’. Imagism is a short lived Russian poetic movement. It was originated in 1919. Ezra pound is given credit to coin the term “Imagism”. Around 1914, poets like Ezra pound have produced many economical poems. There are some general characteristics of imagism which are as below.

1)    Imagism indicates that poetry which are characterised by some clear images.

2)    Imagism represents poet’s impression of any scene in very concentrated manner.

3)    Generally poet use images to create poetic response and to avoid any comment or development of an argument.

4)    Imagism indicates juxtaposition one impression with another.

5)    Generally imagist poems are simple in structure.

6)    In such poetry there is precise description of any seen and metaphoric comparison.

7)    It represents a reaction against the weakest sort of romantic poetry.

8)    Imagism indicates the start of modern poetry. It even highlight the way of expressing a sense of puzzling and fragmented word in poetry.

9)    The most important point is that imagism indicates “a new self consciousness” about poetry. The imagist’s poet’s propagates that the method of writing poetry needs to reform and change.

                                   If we analyse the modern poetry, then we will come to know that there is plentiful use of images. As a result it becomes very difficult to interpret the modern poetry. The reason is that poets have used strange images with no any explanation. So it becomes the duty of reader to find out in what way the poet has used particular image.

                                     According to critic John peck and Martin Coyle,

               “In Ezra pound’s poem we do not merrily accept the content; we stop at the surface, asking why the poet is writing in this strange way?”

                       Since imagism is modern phenomenon, there is reflection of modern world. Modern world is notorious for fragmentation, decay problem of unemployment, dissatisfaction etc. As a result, the images are also very complicated, puzzling and fragmented.

v Major Imagists.

                   Imagists include a group of poets who were prominent before the First World War. The best known poets and their works are as below.

      “Des imagists (1914) – Ezra pound.

It is a collection of poems which are full of unique images.

EXAMPLE- “IN A STATION OF THE METRO”

                            This is a two line poem. The poem is like this   “The apparition of these faces in the crowd,

            Is petals on a wet, black bough”.

      

The principle behind the poem is that pound wants to represents his impression of the station scene in a very concentrated manner.

“Above the dock”- T.E.Hulme.

                 It is a good example of a poem in the imagist manner. After that in 1915, Amy Lowell published some imagist poems. Even poets like Richard Aldington and Hilda Doolittle are also known as imagist in modern English poetry.