The Metro Station

The Metro Station

  Ezra Pound’s poem can be interpreted as pro- modernity because she is in a setting with many people. She is also in a metro station for some reason that is unknown to us. There is the possibility that Pound is catching the train to another city. That would back anyone’s point of this poem being pro- modernity, because she believes in a rapid transit system and is taking advantage of the one in her city. The underground railroad is a unique transportation system; big cities benefit from this because not everyone if fortunate enough to be able drive everyday. It is a quick and safe way to travel in a busy city. She is picky with her choice of words, but each has a vital meaning to the poem. When describing the faces she sees in the metro station Pound says they are an unexpected sight. I thought was unusual because when a person enters a metro station they should be prepared to be nearly trampled by many people trying to get to work on time. Pound reacts as if it was her first time in an underground station.

The net line in this poem takes a complete three hundred and sixty degree turn. This point could also lead some people to believe this poem is anti- modernity. From unusual faces in a crowd, the poem turns to “Petals on a wet, black bough.” My thoughts and mental images came to a halt and I had to reconsider the meaning when I first read this. These ideas are on two opposite sides of the spectrum, but they are somehow linked. Pound could possibly be describing a nearby view she has from the station. It seems as if she is trying to express her love for nature and is longing to leave the city limits.

 

-Justin Arredondo

 

 

-Justin Arredondo