what form of poetry is an immortality by ezra pound? and are there any poetic devices throgh out the poem? thankss!

1 answer

"An Immortality" by Ezra Pound is a free verse poem, which means it does not have a specific rhyme scheme, meter, or stanzaic structure. This form allows the poet more flexibility and freedom in their expression.

As for poetic devices, there are a few used throughout the poem, such as:

1. Imagery: Pound uses vivid images to convey the eternal nature of art and human expression, such as "the flame in the fire-glaive (a type of spear)," "the unmeasured song," and "the circle of the wave."

2. Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words can be seen in lines like "Where winged things, and eyed things / And things with mouths are found," where the "w" sound in "winged" and "where" and the "th" sound in "things" and "and thing" are repeated.

3. Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds can be found in lines like "Of joyous men and shoutings mountain-still," where the "o" sound in "of," "joyous," and "shoutings" is repeated.

4. Enjambment: The poem uses enjambment, which is when a phrase or sentence continues across multiple lines of the poem without pauses or punctuation. This technique can be seen in lines 3-5, where the phrase "Sparks of our life and unmeasured song are things and not a hand's / Breadth from the circle" spans across three lines.

5. Symbolism: The poem touches on various symbols related to immortality, like the flame, the wave, and the unmeasured song, which represent eternal aspects of nature, life, and artistic expression.