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‘s “In a Station of the Metro” – A Profound Miniature

 

‘s poetry comes from the modern free verse where poetic conventions such as rhyme, meter, etc. are broken in favor of the free flowing lines and imagery.  This particular poem is almost reminiscent of the Japanese which is known to only comprise of three lines to describe a fleeting moment in one’s surroundings.  ‘s poetry consists of only two lines subtly describing and presenting a scene.  This kind of poetry continues to be rejected by forefronts of traditional and conventional poetry, or the New Critics who would seek that poetry by a lofty experience that will need to be analyzed through its symbolisms and allusions.  The poetry is seemingly stripped to its bare essentials and has only portrayed the use of language in two short lines.  It is an impression that starts and begins with a picture as though poetry is a snapshot. 

A “snapshot” or a piece of photography is the best description of “In a Station of the Metro”.  This kind of poetry has been the style of poets like and.  All of their poems are also brief and attempting to illustrate or draw an image.  In this manner, their poetry, along with, is called the Imagist poetry.  Imagist is described to be a 20th century poetic form known for its rejection of past conventions to favor the precise description of an image in a language that is clear, frank and straight to the point.  The words are usually common, ordinary and non-elevated and employed in everyday use.  Critics do not recognize Imagist as poetry as it fails to fit the definitions as an artful display of language.  To them, the poetry is very shallow, insufficient, and could only suggest nothing other than a picture.  However supporters would emphasize how each word use and combined is carefully selected and meaningful in their own.  The image is not supposed to be an end but a means towards an inspired feeling or mood brought by the picture.  This is similar to the argument of photography as art.  Critics would not put photography side by side the likes of paintings, among graphic arts because of its mechanical and instantaneous production.  However, photography has a carefully chosen angle and focus that was supposed to convey meaning from how it appears.  The photography, and thus, the Imagist poetry, despite their size and circumstances, may capably inspire thought and feeling because they may reach out and communicate with its viewers or readers.   

“In a Station of the Metro” describes (or rather more appropriately, records) a crowd literally in a Station of the Metro.  It attempted to print a fleeting moment or instant thought in words.  The poetry needs to be short, swift and versatile in order to capture the moment at the risk that it will be gone.  Imagist poetries are compact for a reason other than its mere superficiality.  It is supposed to be a package of real emotions that would strike the reader directly.  The creation is usually without total contemplation but rather, spontaneous move.  The poem consists of nothing more than: “The apparition of these faces in the crowd;/Petals on a wet, black bough.” This strikes the reader as a description of the speaker of the poem of a specific crowd in a station of the metro.  It should be said that the words chosen for the poetry are not chosen random but in fact they come from the poet’s feelings and personal impression.  However, unless this is properly discerned, there will really be no output coming from the reader.  The poem is a subjective attempt to interpret something that is objective, and that alone would say a lot about the poem.  The crowd registers to the speaker of the poem as “petals on a wet, black bough” which presents the crowd as outstanding bright and beautful faces amidst the hustle and bustle of the station.     wanted to capture this spontaneous feeling in 2 sentences.  Somehow, it could not be described in a poem more than 2 lines as it will fail to evoke the instant feeling one would chance upon in a station of the metro.  The metro, to emphasize, is a very busy and fast-moving milieu.  The station above all, emphasizes this as people and trains are literally coming and going, a point of arrival and departures.  People are perceivably always in the move.  It’s hard to pin them down in a thought or a long poetry, the trigger needs to be instantaneous and follow a snapping movement to precisely capture the moment in sharp concentrated (rather elaborated) language.   In this manner, poem may be transparent and it may transport an impression in a manner that is quick and understandable to the reader.

It must be said that this poem illustrates an American’s attempt to inculcate and take in Asian influences such as that of the Japanese  .  The poem is an attempt to adapt to the Japanese style of perception.  Finally, it must be mentioned how poetry is a truly dynamic language that is capable of so much flexible and  versatile styles, forms and moods in order to communicate a human impression.  In the case of Imagist poetry such as “In a Station of the Metro”, poetry has just become visual art.    

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