He has covered considerable distance in both geographic and temporal terms, and the wife expresses her unhappiness. A letter while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead i played about the front gate, pulling flowers. A letter discussion questions 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. Each of the first four stanzas is imagecentered, focusing an emotional point in the history of the relationship between the river merchant s wife and her husband. A lonely housewife hasnt seen her husband for five months, so she decides to write him a letter. Here its important to note that pound didnt write the river merchant s wife but rather translated it from the original chinese, written by li po. Pound wrote his translation in free verse, structured around the chronological life events of the river merchant and his wife. The river merchant s wife is a straightforward poem, especially as far as pound is concerned. A letter, a dramatic monologue written in the form of a letter, is a poignant plea from a wife to her husband, a merchant whose journey has lasted far too long for the wife s. How does the poem illuminate the characteristics of this narrator. Ezra pound translated from the chinese of li tai po rihaku.
You went into far kutoyen, by the river of swirling eddies. By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses, too deep to clear them away. The river merchants wife by lipo linkedin slideshare. The speaker never explicitly states her husband s reasons for leaving. A letter presented by western scholars and the widelyrecognized interpretation in the field of classical chinese studies concerning its chinese.
Authors word choice symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Then she recalls how she acted after they first got marriedat the tender age of. A letter the garden learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. So, the rivermerchant s wife never became a feminist poem. Two letters from changkan i a river merchant s wife writes in the works of lipo, trans. What images in the poem demonstrate her state of mind. A letter, images of vegetation appear in several places especially at the beginning and end of the poem and function in various ways. Inspired by the work of 8thcentury chinese poet li bo, ezra pounds poem is written in the voice of a young woman who writes her husband a letter recalling their initial meeting and marriage. Feb 23, 2012 the sounds that monkeys make are generally interpreted as chirping, happy sounds, but the weight of the wifes sorrow is so great that she can only hear the monkeys noise as sorrowful. A letter is a poem by ezra pound that describes the nature of growing love.
S each of the first fourt stanzas is imagecentered,y focusing an emotional pointl in the history of the relationship between thee river merchants wife and her husband. 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 essay sample the river merchants wife. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, who is the teenager, the poem focuses on imagery to create a world of emotions. Pound s title, the river merchant s wife, suggests that he left for work, but the original title doesnt, and li po gives no direct indication of the husband s profession, except that he s frequently on the river. Then she recalls how she acted after they first got marriedat the tender age of fourteen. You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse, you walked about my seat, playing with blue plums. In the station of the metro a pact the river merchant s wife.
Pdf this article provides a detailed comparison of various interpretations of the river merchants wife. Nov 21, 2017 the imagery in the poem the rivermerchants wife. Introdution in 1915, ezra pound published his poetic collection cathay as an anthology of trans lations for some classical chinese poems, in which, the river. A letter translated by ezra pound originally written by li po slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. A letter tells the story of a sixteenyearold teenager who is married to a river merchant.
Shane wall, josh horsthuis and melissa teichgraf analyze the tone of writer, mood of poem and how it may affect the reader key events of the authors life that shaped his writing tone. Sarovar chandra wrt 102 the river merchants wife, a letter an analytical study my first reaction to reading the women merchants wife was that women in ancient china were rather oppressed. He has covered considerable distance in both geographic and temporal terms, and the wife. Get an answer for whats an example of imagery from the poem, the river merchant s wife.
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. According to ezra pounds translation of li pos poem the river merchants wife, a letter there seems to be a significant lack. 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. While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. You went into far kutoen, by the river of swirling eddies, and you have been gone five months. While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead i played about the front gate, pulling flowers. 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. The rivermerchant s wife is a straightforward poem, especially as far as pound is concerned. A letter, for example, communicates with depth and poignance the human experience of sorrow at separation, the human experience of love. Jan 14, 2017 you went into far kutoen, by the river of swirling eddies, and you have been gone five months. A letter, a dramatic monologue written in the form of a letter, is a poignant plea from a wife to her husband, a merchant whose journey has lasted far too long for the wife s ease of mind.
Translations, which contains versions of chinese poems composed from the sixteen notebooks of ernest fenollosa, a scholar of chinese literature. Short poetry collection 030 librivoxs short poetry collection 030. But he was a known in the art world as a vibrant personality and radical thinker. It tells of a river merchants wifes feelings on sex throughout her life and marriage. Gerontion perhaps specifically recalled the river merchants wife and its dramatising precision. Dive deep into ezra pounds the rivermerchants wife with extended analysis. In addition to the jewell stairs grievance and the exiles letter, also included in the collection, zhaoming qian has referred to the river merchant s wife. 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. After making hundreds of broadcasts for the italian facist regime, he. Set in china, ezra pounds the river merchants wife. It first appeared in pounds 1915 collection cathay.
Working with the literary traditions of other cultures was typical not only of pound, but of most of his contemporaries, who were not convinced that the only culture of value was. A letter is a persona poem like the love song of j. As a result, the wife falls into a female stereotypeshe is naive, bashful, stubborn, loyal to her husband, and subordinate to her husband. The portrayal of this woman was originally written by a man, li po, and it was then translated by men, like ezra pound. Throughout the poem, the reader sees the girl having increasingly stronger feelings and a deeper appreciation for the man. Until the publication of cathay in 1915, ezra pound was not really known for his poetry.
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. 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. It first appeared in pound s 1915 collection cathay. Representations of a decontextualized chineseness article pdf available in meta 563. 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. Each of the first four stanzas is imagecentered, focusing an emotional point in the history of the relationship between the rivermerchants wife and her husband.
The free verse makes the letter feel more authentic, as if it is a real letter from a wife to her husband. Lines 1921 the first three lines of this final 11line stanza are centered on the image of the river merchants absence. 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. If you enjoyed this poem, visit both authors pages for more of their work. This form, though perhaps not li po s intent, does actually align with the content of this poem.
While my hair was still cut straight across my foreheadi played about the front gate pulling flowers page. Pounds title, the river merchant s wife, suggests that he left for work, but the original title doesnt, and li po gives no direct indication of the husbands profession, except that hes frequently on the river. No one has ever pierced so brilliantly, even achingly into the very core of the vast and splendid poetry of china. 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. Li pos 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. Whats an example of imagery from the poem, the river. Five months ago, the river merchant had departed on some unexplained journey.
The allusions to different places arent that important to the reader, as long as you know that the wife wants to travel hundreds of miles just so she can see her husband a few weeks sooner. In the letter, she recalls her first memory of their meeting. A letter was published in 1915 in ezra pounds third collection of poetry, cathay. 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. This article provides a detailed comparison of various interpretations of the river merchants wife. For this collection, pound used translation notes left behind by eastasian scholar ernest fenollosa to translate chinese poemseven though pound did not speak the language. The river merchants wife an analytical study sarovar. Pound called the poems in english which resulted from the fenollosa manuscripts translations, but as such they are held.
His early work was poorly received and was a bit preoccupied with an outdated victorian style. Ezra pound writing styles in the river merchants wife. 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. Then she recalls how she acted after they set got marriedat the tender age of 14. The river merchant s wife questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on the river.
It is a powerful expression of the wifes feelings and an attempt to demonstrate to the rivermerchant how she has grown into a mature and more complete stage of love. A lonely housewife hasnt seen her husband for 5 months, so she writes him a letter. It is the most widely anthologized poem of the collection. A letter is an avantgarde poem that appears in ezra pounds third collection of poetry. So, the rivermerchants wife never became a feminist poem. A letter ezra pound, leaves us in question about a relationship in which there was a dramatic break up between two people.
It was written by li bai, and skillfully translated by ezra pound. Given that this departure immediately follows the speakers question about distance, she might be wondering why her husband left. This form, though perhaps not li pos intent, does actually align with the content of this poem. For this collection, pound used translation notes left behind by eastasian scholar ernest fenollosa to translate chinese poemseven though pound did. A letter contains, for me, the keys to a method and a style in free verse, coupling with the whitmanic principle of the syntactic and rhythmic integrity of the line with pounds insistence on an imagistic hardness he found in the provencal and anglosaxon poetry he was also translating at this time. 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. Brogan on pounds the river merchant s wife in the translation entry of the new princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics, preminger, a. A letter while my hair was still cut straight across my forehead. The river merchants wife essaysthe role of the speaker and dramatic situation in the river merchant s wife. A vocabulary list featuring the rivermerchant s wife. Brogan on pound s the river merchant s wife in the translation entry of the new princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics, preminger, a. A letter is a poem loosely translated by ezra pound from a poem by chinese poet li bai. 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. Contemporary faces of the river merchants wife, by.