A letter while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead i played about the front gate, pulling flowers. You went into far kutoen, by the river of swirling eddies, and you have been gone five months. It is the most widely anthologized poem of the collection. Then she recalls how she acted after they first got marriedat the tender age of. One example of symbolism in our poem is by the gate now, the moss is grown, the different. A letter is a poem loosely translated by ezra pound from a poem by chinese poet li bai. Representations of a decontextualized chineseness article pdf available in meta 563.
While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead the academy of american poets is the largest membershipbased nonprofit organization. If you enjoyed this poem, visit both authors pages for more of. The most famous and successful of pounds renderings in cathay is the river merchants wife. This form, though perhaps not li po s intent, does actually align with the content of this poem.
Ezra pound republic of the philippines philippine normal university the national center for teacher education mindanao multicultural education hub lea mae languidogonida bee ii2 discussant 2. After making hundreds of broadcasts for the italian facist regime, he was tried for treason, judged insane, and held in a mental hospital for over ten years. She married him while still young, feeling shy and reticent, but soon she found herself deeply. In his early career he was the influential and a controversial leader of imagism and vorticism. It is a poignant plea from a wife to her husband, a merchant whose journey has lasted far too long for the wifes ease of mind.
This opening stanza of 6 lines is organized around a central image of the river merchant and his wife as a child, confirmed by the first component. Rebekah thompson theme this poem is a letter a woman wrote to her husband, not intending for him to read it, but more to explain how it feels like for her. A letter, lament of the frontier guard, the jewel stairs grievance, exiles letter resources handout 6. Short poetry collection 030 librivoxs short poetry collection 030. Here it s important to note that pound didnt write the river merchant s wife but rather translated it from the original chinese, written by li po. After making hundreds of broadcasts for the italian facist regime, he. A letter begins with the speaker reminiscing about childhood, a time when, in her words, my hair was still cut straight across my forehead. In the river merchant s wife, pound illustrates a young bride s maturation process and her longing for her absent husband whom she grew to love. It also shows how her views change with time and circumstances. A letter is a dramatic monologue written in the form of a letter from the wifes point of view.
While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead. By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses, too deep to clear them away. While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead i played about the front gate, pulling flowers. Pdf on feb 21, 2017, tammy laiming ho and others published contemporary faces of the river merchants wife find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. A letter, by ezra pound is not only a letter from a woman to her husband, but is also a narrative of a young womans sex life. But he was a known in the art world as a vibrant personality and radical thinker. Orage also noted the similarity between browning s bishop bloughram s apology and pound s the river merchant s wife in terms of their natural simplicity. Until the publication of cathay in 1915, ezra pound was not really known for his poetry. A secondary source is the novel that you are using in your literary analysis. So, the rivermerchant s wife never became a feminist poem.
It first appeared in pounds 1915 collection cathay. The rivermerchants wife character analysis course hero. Ezra pound was born in hailey, idaho, grew up near philadelphia, but lived much of his adult life overseas. The river merchants wife printing free download as powerpoint presentation. Throughout the poem, the reader sees the girl having increasingly stronger feelings and a deeper appreciation for the man. Ezra pound republic of the philippines philippine normal university the national center for teacher education mindanao multicultural.
A letter criticism ezra pound this study guide consists of approximately 28 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the river merchants wife. A letter, by ezra pound is not only a letter from a woman to her husband, but is also a narrative of a young woman s sex life. A letter offers rich allegory, metaphor, and symbols, often studied by high school students. As their advanced placement english literature and composition teacher, i have the privilege and power to change their thinking, to create a new experience, to encourage them to peruse the sunday paper for the next professional play coming to town. A letter historical context ezra pound this study guide consists of approximately 28 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the river merchants wife. A letter criticism ezra pound this study guide consists of approximately 28 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the river merchant s wife. It was written by li bai, and skillfully translated by ezra pound. The river merchant s wife reflects with nostalgia and ambivalence on all the transformations she has undergone since her idyllic childhood. Pound was born in hailey, idaho, in 1885, and raised in philadelphia, the son of homer loomis pound and isabel weston pound.
A letter, by ezra pound essay sample the river merchants wife. Then she recalls how she acted after they set got marriedat the tender age of 14. Li po s natural images and eastern sensibility wouldve appealed to pound as one of the founding members of imagism, a movement in poetry dedicated to clarity, rhythm, and precision in diction. A letter ezra pound while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead i played about the front gate, pulling flowers. It first appeared in pound s 1915 collection cathay. If you are coming down through the narrows of the river kiang, please let me know beforehand, and i will come out to meet you as far as chofusa. In a station of the metro, the river merchants wife. This poem takes the form of a letter from a lonely wife who has not seen her husband in five months.
The most famous and successful of pound s renderings in cathay is the river merchant s wife. Each of the first four stanzas is imagecentered, focusing an emotional point in the history of the relationship between the river merchants wife and her husband. Of all the major literary figures in the twentieth century, ezra pound has been one of the most controversial. A letter tells the story of a sixteenyearold teenager who is married to a river merchant. The letter is full of descriptions that are highly stylistic and, well, poetic.
A lonely housewife hasnt seen her husband for 5 months, so she writes him a letter. It tells of a river merchants wifes feelings on sex throughout her life and marriage. In the letter, she recalls her first memory of their meeting. Contemporary faces of the river merchants wife, by. We learn that she was very young at the time of her marriage although this was typical of arranged marriages when li po wrote his original poem. Another way of looking at the title is as a stage direction in the text of a play.
A 568page free pdf ebook on practical verse writing is available from ocaso press. As a result, the wife falls into a female stereotypeshe is naive, bashful, stubborn, loyal to her husband, and subordinate to her husband. Abstract this article provides a detailed comparison of various interpretations of the river merchants wife. The rivermerchants wife reflects with nostalgia and ambivalence on all the transformations she has undergone since her idyllic childhood. This form, though perhaps not li pos intent, does actually align with the content of this poem. A letter historical context ezra pound this study guide consists of approximately 28 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the river merchant s wife. As such, it reverses the gender roles in the chinese source text and pounds version, in which a male poet crossdresses as a woman by donning the voice of a yearning wife. Then she recalls how she acted after they first got marriedat the tender age of fourteen. A letter is a poem by ezra pound that describes the nature of growing love. The free verse makes the letter feel more authentic, as if it is a real letter from a wife to her husband. Pound is trying to express how it feels to be left by the one you love but still have to keep going.
If you are coming down through the narrows of the river kiang, please let me. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, who is the teenager, the poem focuses on imagery to create a world of emotions. You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse, you walked about my seat, playing with blue plums. This opening stanza of 6 lines is organized around a central image of the river merchant and his wife as a child, confirmed by the first component of the central image. A letter while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead. A letter was published in 1915 in ezra pounds third collection of poetry. Ezra pound biography 3 it is unclear whether climb the lookout in line 14 is a reference to a ritual performed in this culture by a wife after death, perhaps to look for other offers to marry that might come her way. The difference is that browning was perfecting the expression of a powerful and subtle mind, while rihaku was perfecting the mind relatively of a child. Lets begin, as a river or a journey might, at the beginning. A letter by ezra pound 1885 1972 while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead i played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
Pdf this article provides a detailed comparison of various interpretations of the river merchants wife. A letter by ezra pound embedded video for ghada charki. It is written in open verse in the form of a letter from the wife of a river merchant to her husband, who has been away from their home for five months. Contemporary faces of the river merchants wife, by tammy. A letter while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead the academy of american poets is the largest membershipbased nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting american poets.
It is written in open verse in the form of a letter from the wife of a rivermerchant to her husband, who has been away from their home for five months. A letter describes her behavior during the early days of her marriages as shy and somber. As such, it reverses the gender roles in the chinese source text and pounds version, in which a male poet cross. Ezra pound, cathay for the most part from the chinese of rihaku, from the notes of the late ernest fenollosa, and the decipherings of the professors mori and ariga, lustra london. Orage also noted the similarity between brownings bishop bloughrams apology and pounds the rivermerchants wife in terms of their natural simplicity.
I cant even say ezra pounds the river merchants wife though hes often listed as the author. In the river merchants wife, pound illustrates a young brides maturation process and her longing for her absent husband whom she grew to love. In context, her childhood haircut is a physical aspect of her appearance that separates her past self from her current self. Here its important to note that pound didnt write the river merchants wife but rather translated it from the original chinese, written by li po. It tells of a river merchant s wife s feelings on sex throughout her life and marriage. The portrayal of this woman was originally written by a man, li po, and it was then translated by men, like ezra pound. This opening stanza of 6 lines is organized around a central image of the rivermerchant and his wife as a child, confirmed by the first component of the central image. His early work was poorly received and was a bit preoccupied with an outdated victorian style.
May 24, 2016 ust 111 faculty of engineering group project for world literature based on the poem river merchant s wife. While my hair was still cut straight across my foreheadi played about the front gate pulling flowers page. One example of symbolism in our poem is by the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses, too deep to clear them away. In addition to the jewell stairs grievance and the exiles letter, also included in the collection, zhaoming qian has referred to the river merchants. Its a poem, not a historical document of communication between two chinese people. Pound wrote his translation in free verse, structured around the chronological life events of the river merchant and his wife. Pound, ezra 18851972 controversial american poet, editor, and critic who had a major influence on 20th century literature. When she was young, she played in the garden with the boy who would become her husband. He made his first visits to europe with his family in 1898 and 1902. A letter ezra pound translated from the chinese of li tai po rihaku pound, ezra 18851972 controversial american poet, editor, and critic who had a major influence on 20th century literature. What visual images does pound employ in river merchants.
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