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MODERNIST MANIFESTOS
poster art, creatively manipulating words on the page for maximum effect. In their
jagged typography, wild energy, and radical individualism turned to a collective purpose, these modernist manifestos helped advance and now exemplify elements of
innovative art through the twentieth century.
For more documents, images, and contexts related to this subject, see "Modernist
Experiment" at Norton Literature Online.
T. E. H U L M E
Although he published only six poems during his brief life, T. E. Hulme (1883—1917),
English poet, philosopher, and critic, was one of the strongest intellectual forces
behind the development of modernism. In this essay, probably composed in either
1911 or 1912 and probably delivered as a lecture in 1912, Hulme prophesies a "dry,
hard, classical verse" that exhibits precision, clarity, and freshness. He sharply repudiates the "spilt religion" of Romanticism, responsible for vagueness in the arts.
H u l m e sees h u m a n beings as limited and capable of improvement only through the
influence of tradition. These ideas were an important influence on the thought and
poetry of T. S. Eliot. Hulme's views of conventional language, the visual image, and
verbal exactitude also shaped the imagism and vorticism of Ezra Pound and others.
Hulme was born in Staffordshire, England, and attended St. John's College, Cambridge, from which he was expelled for rebellious behavior in 1904 without finishing
his degree. He lived mainly in London, where, befriending Pound and other poets
and artists, he became a central figure of the prewar avant-garde. A critic of pacifism,
H u l m e enlisted as a private in the army when World War I broke out in 1914, and
was killed in battle in 1917. First published posthumously in Speculations (1924),
this essay is excerpted from The Collected Writings ofT. E. Hulme (1994), ed. Karen
Csengeri.
From Romanticism and Classicism
I w a n t to m a i n t a i n t h a t a f t e r a h u n d r e d years of r o m a n t i c i s m , we a r e in f o r
a classical revival, a n d t h a t t h e p a r t i c u l a r w e a p o n of t h i s n e w classical spirit,
w h e n it w o r k s in verse, will be f a n c y . * * *
I k n o w t h a t in u s i n g t h e w o r d s 'classic' a n d ' r o m a n t i c ' I am d o i n g a d a n g e r o u s t h i n g . T h e y r e p r e s e n t five or six d i f f e r e n t k i n d s of a n t i t h e s e s , a n d w h i l e I
m a y b e u s i n g t h e m i n o n e s e n s e you m a y b e i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e m i n a n o t h e r . I n
this present c o n n e c t i o n I am using t h e m in a perfectly precise and limited
s e n s e . I o u g h t really to h a v e c o i n e d a c o u p l e of n e w w o r d s , b u t I p r e f e r to u s e
t h e o n e s I h a v e u s e d , as I t h e n c o n f o r m to t h e p r a c t i c e of t h e g r o u p of p o l e m ical w r i t e r s w h o m a k e m o s t u s e o f t h e m a t t h e p r e s e n t day, a n d h a v e a l m o s t
s u c c e e d e d i n m a k i n g t h e m political c a t c h w o r d s . I m e a n M a u r r a s , L a s s e r r e
a n d all t h e g r o u p c o n n e c t e d w i t h L'Action Frangaise.'
A t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e this i s t h e p a r t i c u l a r g r o u p w i t h w h i c h t h e d i s t i n c t i o n
is m o s t vital. B e c a u s e it h a s b e c o m e a p a r t y s y m b o l . If y o u a s k e d a m a n of a
1. Charles M a u r r a s ( 1 8 6 8 - 1 9 5 2 ) and Pierre Lasserre (1867—1930) were intellectuals associated
with I'Action Frangaise, a reactionary political
movement that denigrated Romanticism and sup-
ported the Catholic C h u r c h as a force for order.
(T. S. Eliot also fell under t h e movement's influence.)
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c e r t a i n set w h e t h e r h e p r e f e r r e d t h e classics o r t h e r o m a n t i c s , you c o u l d
d e d u c e f r o m t h a t w h a t his politics w e r e .
T h e b e s t w a y of gliding i n t o a p r o p e r d e f i n i t i o n of my t e r m s w o u l d be to
s t a r t w i t h a set o f p e o p l e w h o a r e p r e p a r e d t o f i g h t a b o u t i t — f o r i n t h e m you
will h a v e n o v a g u e n e s s . ( O t h e r p e o p l e t a k e t h e i n f a m o u s a t t i t u d e o f t h e p e r s o n
w i t h c a t h o l i c t a s t e s w h o says h e likes b o t h . )
A b o u t a y e a r ago, a m a n w h o s e n a m e I t h i n k w a s F a u c h o i s gave a l e c t u r e
at the Odeon on Racine,2 in t h e course of which he m a d e some disparaging
r e m a r k s a b o u t h i s d u l l n e s s , l a c k o f i n v e n t i o n a n d t h e r e s t o f it. T h i s c a u s e d
a n i m m e d i a t e riot: f i g h t s t o o k p l a c e all over t h e h o u s e ; several p e o p l e w e r e
a r r e s t e d a n d i m p r i s o n e d , a n d t h e rest o f t h e series o f l e c t u r e s t o o k p l a c e w i t h
h u n d r e d s o f g e n d a r m e s 3 a n d d e t e c t i v e s s c a t t e r e d all over t h e p l a c e . T h e s e
p e o p l e i n t e r r u p t e d b e c a u s e t h e classical i d e a l i s a living t h i n g t o t h e m a n d
R a c i n e is t h e g r e a t classic. T h a t is w h a t I call a r e a l vital i n t e r e s t in l i t e r a t u r e .
T h e y regard romanticism as an awful disease f r o m which France had just
recovered.
T h e thing is complicated in their case by the fact that it was romanticism
that made the revolution.4 They hate the revolution, so they hate romanticism.
I m a k e n o apology f o r d r a g g i n g i n politics h e r e ; r o m a n t i c i s m b o t h i n E n g l a n d
a n d F r a n c e is a s s o c i a t e d w i t h c e r t a i n political views, a n d it is in t a k i n g a
c o n c r e t e e x a m p l e of t h e w o r k i n g o u t of a p r i n c i p l e in a c t i o n t h a t you c a n get
its b e s t d e f i n i t i o n .
W h a t w a s t h e positive p r i n c i p l e b e h i n d all t h e o t h e r p r i n c i p l e s o f '89? I a m
t a l k i n g h e r e of t h e r e v o l u t i o n in as f a r as it w a s an idea; I leave o u t m a t e r i a l
c a u s e s — t h e y o n l y p r o d u c e t h e f o r c e s . T h e b a r r i e r s w h i c h c o u l d easily h a v e
r e s i s t e d o r g u i d e d t h e s e f o r c e s h a d b e e n p r e v i o u s l y r o t t e d away b y ideas. T h i s
always s e e m s t o b e t h e c a s e i n s u c c e s s f u l c h a n g e s ; t h e privileged class i s
b e a t e n only w h e n i t h a s lost f a i t h i n itself, w h e n i t h a s itself b e e n p e n e t r a t e d
w i t h t h e ideas w h i c h a r e w o r k i n g a g a i n s t it.
It w a s n o t t h e r i g h t s of m a n — t h a t w a s a g o o d solid p r a c t i c a l war-cry. T h e
thing which created e n t h u s i a s m , w h i c h m a d e the revolution practically a n e w
religion, w a s s o m e t h i n g m o r e positive t h a n t h a t . P e o p l e o f all classes, p e o p l e
w h o stood to lose by it, w e r e in a positive f e r m e n t a b o u t t h e i d e a of liberty.
There m u s t have been some idea which enabled t h e m to think that something
positive c o u l d c o m e o u t o f s o essentially n e g a t i v e a t h i n g . T h e r e was, a n d h e r e
I get m y d e f i n i t i o n o f r o m a n t i c i s m . T h e y h a d b e e n t a u g h t b y R o u s s e a u 5 t h a t
m a n w a s b y n a t u r e good, t h a t i t w a s only b a d laws a n d c u s t o m s t h a t h a d
s u p p r e s s e d h i m . R e m o v e all t h e s e a n d t h e i n f i n i t e possibilities o f m a n w o u l d
h a v e a c h a n c e . T h i s i s w h a t m a d e t h e m t h i n k t h a t s o m e t h i n g positive c o u l d
c o m e o u t o f d i s o r d e r , t h i s i s w h a t c r e a t e d t h e religious e n t h u s i a s m . H e r e i s
t h e root o f all r o m a n t i c i s m : t h a t m a n , t h e i n d i v i d u a l , i s a n i n f i n i t e reservoir
of possibilities; a n d if y o u c a n so r e a r r a n g e s o c i e t y by t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of o p p r e s sive o r d e r t h e n t h e s e possibilities will h a v e a c h a n c e a n d y o u will get P r o g r e s s .
O n e c a n d e f i n e t h e classical q u i t e clearly a s t h e exact o p p o s i t e t o t h i s . M a n
i s a n extraordinarily f i x e d a n d limited a n i m a l w h o s e n a t u r e i s a b s o l u t e l y c o n -
2. Jean Racine (1639—1699), F r e n c h tragic playwright associated with classicism. T h e riot
occurred at a lecture delivered by French playwright Rene Fauchois ( 1 8 8 2 - 1 9 6 2 ) at the O d e o n
T h e a t e r , Paris, on November 3, 1910.
3. Police officers (French).
4. T h e F r e n c h Revolution ( 1 7 8 9 - 9 9 ) .
5. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712—1778), Swissb o r n F r e n c h writer and philosopher whose ideas
greatly influenced t h e leaders of the F r e n c h Revolution and the development of Romanticism.
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s t a n t . I t i s o n l y b y t r a d i t i o n a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n t h a t a n y t h i n g d e c e n t c a n b e got
o u t of h i m .
fr
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tfc
P u t shortly, t h e s e a r e t h e t w o views, t h e n . O n e , t h a t m a n i s intrinsically
g o o d , spoilt b y c i r c u m s t a n c e ; a n d t h e o t h e r t h a t h e i s intrinsically limited, b u t
d i s c i p l i n e d b y o r d e r a n d t r a d i t i o n t o s o m e t h i n g fairly d e c e n t . T o t h e o n e p a r t y
m a n ' s n a t u r e is like a well, to t h e o t h e r like a b u c k e t . T h e view w h i c h r e g a r d s
m a n as a well, a r e s e r v o i r f u l l of possibilities, I call t h e r o m a n t i c ; t h e o n e
w h i c h r e g a r d s h i m as a very finite a n d fixed c r e a t u r e , I call t h e classical.
O n e m a y n o t e h e r e t h a t t h e C h u r c h h a s always t a k e n t h e classical view
s i n c e t h e d e f e a t o f t h e P e l a g i a n heresy*' a n d t h e a d o p t i o n o f t h e s a n e classical
d o g m a of original sin.
It w o u l d be a m i s t a k e to i d e n t i f y t h e classical view w i t h t h a t of m a t e r i a l i s m .
On t h e c o n t r a r y it is a b s o l u t e l y i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h e n o r m a l religious a t t i t u d e . I
s h o u l d p u t it in t h i s way: T h a t p a r t of t h e fixed n a t u r e of m a n is t h e belief in
t h e Deity. T h i s s h o u l d b e a s f i x e d a n d t r u e f o r every m a n a s belief i n t h e
e x i s t e n c e o f m a t t e r a n d i n t h e o b j e c t i v e w o r l d . I t i s parallel t o a p p e t i t e , t h e
i n s t i n c t o f sex, a n d all t h e o t h e r f i x e d q u a l i t i e s . N o w a t c e r t a i n t i m e s , b y
the use of either force or rhetoric, these instincts have been suppressed—in
F l o r e n c e u n d e r S a v o n a r o l a , i n G e n e v a u n d e r Calvin, a n d h e r e u n d e r t h e
R o u n d h e a d s . 7 T h e inevitable r e s u l t o f s u c h a p r o c e s s i s t h a t t h e r e p r e s s e d
i n s t i n c t b u r s t s o u t i n s o m e a b n o r m a l d i r e c t i o n . S o w i t h religion. B y t h e p e r v e r t e d r h e t o r i c o f R a t i o n a l i s m , y o u r n a t u r a l i n s t i n c t s a r e s u p p r e s s e d a n d you
are converted into an agnostic. Just as in the case of the other instincts, N a t u r e
h a s h e r r e v e n g e . T h e i n s t i n c t s t h a t f i n d t h e i r r i g h t a n d p r o p e r o u t l e t i n religion
m u s t c o m e o u t in s o m e o t h e r way. You d o n ' t believe in a G o d , so you b e g i n
to believe t h a t m a n is a god. You d o n ' t believe in H e a v e n , so you b e g i n to
believe i n a h e a v e n o n e a r t h . I n o t h e r w o r d s , you get r o m a n t i c i s m . T h e c o n c e p t s t h a t a r e r i g h t a n d p r o p e r i n t h e i r o w n s p h e r e a r e s p r e a d over, a n d s o
m e s s u p , falsify a n d b l u r t h e c l e a r o u t l i n e s o f h u m a n e x p e r i e n c e . I t i s like
p o u r i n g a p o t o f t r e a c l e 8 over t h e d i n n e r t a b l e . R o m a n t i c i s m t h e n , a n d this i s
t h e b e s t d e f i n i t i o n I c a n give of it, is spilt religion.
I m u s t n o w s h i r k t h e difficulty of saying exactly w h a t I m e a n by r o m a n t i c
a n d classical in verse. I c a n only say t h a t it m e a n s t h e r e s u l t of t h e s e two
a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s t h e c o s m o s , t o w a r d s m a n , i n s o f a r a s i t gets r e f l e c t e d i n
verse. T h e r o m a n t i c , b e c a u s e h e t h i n k s m a n i n f i n i t e , m u s t always b e t a l k i n g
a b o u t t h e i n f i n i t e ; a n d a s t h e r e i s always t h e b i t t e r c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n w h a t you
t h i n k you o u g h t t o b e a b l e t o d o a n d w h a t m a n a c t u a l l y c a n , i t always t e n d s ,
in its later s t a g e s at a n y r a t e , to be gloomy. I really c a n ' t go a n y f u r t h e r t h a n
t o say i t i s t h e r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e s e t w o t e m p e r a m e n t s , a n d p o i n t o u t e x a m p l e s
o f t h e d i f f e r e n t spirits. O n t h e o n e h a n d I w o u l d take s u c h diverse p e o p l e a s
H o r a c e , m o s t o f t h e E l i z a b e t h a n s a n d t h e w r i t e r s o f t h e A u g u s t a n age, a n d o n
t h e o t h e r side L a m a r t i n e , H u g o , p a r t s o f K e a t s , C o l e r i d g e , Byron, Shelley a n d
Swinburne.9
6. Controversial C h u r c h doctrine denying t h e
transmission of original sin, n a m e d after t h e theologian Pelagius (ca. 354—after 418).
7. Puritan m e m b e r s of t h e Parliamentary Party
during the English Civil W a r (1642—51), n a m e d
for their short haircuts. Girolamo Savonarola
(1452—1498), Dominican m o n k w h o d e n o u n c e d
the extravagance of t h e Renaissance. J o h n Calvin
(1509—1564), Protestant theologian who stressed
the predestination and the depravity of h u m a n kind.
8. Molasses (British).
9. H o r a c e ( 6 5 - 8 B . C . E . ) , Roman poet. "The Elizabethans": English poets and playwrights (such as
Shakespeare) writing during the reign of Q u e e n
Elizabeth I ( 1 5 5 8 - 1 6 0 3 ) . "The Augustan age": the
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W h a t I m e a n b y classical i n verse, t h e n , i s t h i s . T h a t even i n t h e m o s t
i m a g i n a t i v e flights t h e r e is always a h o l d i n g b a c k , a r e s e r v a t i o n . T h e classical
p o e t n e v e r f o r g e t s t h i s f i n i t e n e s s , t h i s limit o f m a n . H e r e m e m b e r s always t h a t
h e i s mixed u p w i t h e a r t h . H e m a y j u m p , b u t h e always r e t u r n s b a c k ; h e n e v e r
flies away i n t o t h e c i r c u m a m b i e n t gas.
You m i g h t say i f you w i s h e d t h a t t h e w h o l e o f t h e r o m a n t i c a t t i t u d e s e e m s
to crystallise in verse r o u n d m e t a p h o r s of flight. H u g o is always flying, flying
over abysses, f l y i n g u p i n t o t h e e t e r n a l gases. T h e w o r d i n f i n i t e i n every o t h e r
line.
I n t h e classical a t t i t u d e you n e v e r s e e m t o s w i n g r i g h t a l o n g t o t h e i n f i n i t e
n o t h i n g . I f y o u say a n e x t r a v a g a n t t h i n g w h i c h d o e s e x c e e d t h e limits i n s i d e
w h i c h you k n o w m a n t o b e f a s t e n e d , yet t h e r e i s always c o n v e y e d i n s o m e way
a t t h e e n d a n i m p r e s s i o n o f yourself s t a n d i n g o u t s i d e it, a n d n o t q u i t e believing
it, or c o n s c i o u s l y p u t t i n g it f o r w a r d as a flourish. You n e v e r go b l i n d l y i n t o an
atmosphere more than the truth, an a t m o s p h e r e too rarefied for m a n to
b r e a t h e f o r long. You a r e always f a i t h f u l to t h e c o n c e p t i o n of a limit. It is a
q u e s t i o n of p i t c h ; in r o m a n t i c verse y o u m o v e at a c e r t a i n p i t c h of r h e t o r i c
w h i c h you k n o w , m a n b e i n g w h a t h e is, t o b e a little h i g h - f a l u t i n . T h e k i n d o f
t h i n g you get i n H u g o o r S w i n b u r n e . I n t h e c o m i n g classical r e a c t i o n t h a t will
feel just wrong. * * *
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$
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I o b j e c t even to t h e b e s t of t h e r o m a n t i c s . I o b j e c t still m o r e to t h e r e c e p t i v e
a t t i t u d e . 1 I o b j e c t to t h e s l o p p i n e s s w h i c h d o e s n ' t c o n s i d e r t h a t a p o e m is a
p o e m u n l e s s i t i s m o a n i n g o r w h i n i n g a b o u t s o m e t h i n g o r o t h e r . I always t h i n k
in t h i s c o n n e c t i o n of t h e last line of a p o e m of J o h n W e b s t e r ' s w h i c h e n d s
w i t h a r e q u e s t I cordially e n d o r s e :
' E n d y o u r m o a n a n d c o m e away.' 2
T h e t h i n g h a s got s o b a d n o w t h a t a p o e m w h i c h i s all dry a n d h a r d , a p r o p e r l y
classical p o e m , w o u l d n o t b e c o n s i d e r e d p o e t r y a t all. H o w m a n y p e o p l e n o w
c a n lay t h e i r h a n d s o n t h e i r h e a r t s a n d say t h e y like e i t h e r H o r a c e o r P o p e ?
T h e y feel a k i n d of chill w h e n t h e y r e a d t h e m .
T h e dry h a r d n e s s w h i c h you get i n t h e classics i s a b s o l u t e l y r e p u g n a n t
t o t h e m . P o e t r y t h a t isn't d a m p isn't p o e t r y a t all. T h e y c a n n o t s e e t h a t a c c u r a t e
d e s c r i p t i o n is a l e g i t i m a t e o b j e c t of verse. V e r s e to t h e m always m e a n s a bringing i n o f s o m e o f t h e e m o t i o n s t h a t a r e g r o u p e d r o u n d t h e w o r d i n f i n i t e .
T h e essence of poetry to m o s t people is that it m u s t lead t h e m to a beyond
o f s o m e k i n d . V e r s e strictly c o n f i n e d t o t h e e a r t h l y a n d t h e d e f i n i t e (Keats i s
f u l l o f it) m i g h t s e e m t o t h e m t o b e e x c e l l e n t w r i t i n g , e x c e l l e n t c r a f t s m a n s h i p ,
but not poetry. So m u c h has romanticism d e b a u c h e d us, that, without some
form of vagueness, we deny the highest.
In t h e classic it is always t h e light of o r d i n a r y day, n e v e r t h e light t h a t n e v e r
late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries,
when English writers s u c h as J o h n Dryden (1631—
1700) and Alexander Pope ( 1 6 8 8 - 1 7 4 4 ) e m b r a c e d
a classicism likened to t h e Augustan Age of Rome.
Alphonse L a m a r t i n e (1790—1869), F r e n c h poet
and politician. Victor H u g o ( 1 8 0 2 - 1 8 8 5 ) , F r e n c h
poet and novelist. J o h n Keats ( 1 7 9 5 - 1 8 2 1 ) , Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772—1834), George G o r d o n
(Lord) Byron ( 1 7 8 8 - 1 8 2 4 ) , Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1792—1822),
Algernon
Charles
Swinburne
( 1 8 3 7 - 1 9 0 9 ) , English poets.
1. Elsewhere in t h e essay, H u l m e claims that
every sort of verse has an accompanying receptive
attitude by which readers c o m e to expect certain
qualities f r o m poetry. T h e s e receptive attitudes, he
explains, sometimes outlast the poetry from which
they develop.
2. From The Duchess of Malfi (1623) 4.2, by the
English dramatist J o h n W e b s t e r (ca. 1 5 8 0 - c a .
1625).
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MODERNIST MANIFESTOS
w a s o n l a n d o r sea. I t i s always p e r f e c t l y h u m a n a n d n e v e r e x a g g e r a t e d : m a n
is always m a n a n d n e v e r a god.
But t h e a w f u l r e s u l t o f r o m a n t i c i s m i s t h a t , a c c u s t o m e d t o this s t r a n g e light,
you c a n n e v e r live w i t h o u t it. Its e f f e c t on y o u is t h a t of a d r u g .
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*
* * * It is e s s e n t i a l to p r o v e t h a t b e a u t y m a y be in small, dry t h i n g s .
T h e g r e a t a i m i s a c c u r a t e , p r e c i s e a n d d e f i n i t e d e s c r i p t i o n . T h e first t h i n g
is to r e c o g n i s e h o w e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y d i f f i c u l t t h i s is. It is no m e r e m a t t e r of
c a r e f u l n e s s ; you h a v e to u s e l a n g u a g e , a n d l a n g u a g e is by its very n a t u r e a
c o m m u n a l t h i n g ; t h a t is, i t e x p r e s s e s n e v e r t h e exact t h i n g b u t a c o m p r o m i s e —
t h a t w h i c h i s c o m m o n t o you, m e a n d everybody. B u t e a c h m a n sees a little
d i f f e r e n t l y , a n d t o g e t o u t clearly a n d exactly w h a t h e d o e s see, h e m u s t h a v e
a terrific s t r u g g l e w i t h l a n g u a g e , w h e t h e r it be w i t h w o r d s or t h e t e c h n i q u e of
o t h e r a r t s . L a n g u a g e h a s its o w n s p e c i a l n a t u r e , its o w n c o n v e n t i o n s a n d c o m m u n a l i d e a s . It is only by a c o n c e n t r a t e d e f f o r t of t h e m i n d t h a t you c a n h o l d
i t f i x e d t o y o u r o w n p u r p o s e . I always t h i n k t h a t t h e f u n d a m e n t a l p r o c e s s a t
t h e b a c k o f all t h e a r t s m i g h t b e r e p r e s e n t e d b y t h e f o l l o w i n g m e t a p h o r . You
k n o w w h a t I call a r c h i t e c t ' s c u r v e s — f l a t p i e c e s of w o o d w i t h all d i f f e r e n t k i n d s
of c u r v a t u r e . By a s u i t a b l e s e l e c t i o n f r o m t h e s e you c a n d r a w a p p r o x i m a t e l y
a n y c u r v e y o u like. T h e artist I t a k e t o b e t h e m a n w h o simply c a n ' t b e a r t h e
idea o f t h a t ' a p p r o x i m a t e l y ' . H e will get t h e exact c u r v e o f w h a t h e s e e s w h e t h e r
i t b e a n o b j e c t o r a n i d e a i n t h e m i n d . I shall h e r e have t o c h a n g e m y m e t a p h o r
a little to get t h e p r o c e s s in his m i n d . S u p p o s e t h a t i n s t e a d of y o u r c u r v e d
p i e c e s of w o o d you h a v e a springy p i e c e of steel of t h e s a m e types of c u r v a t u r e
as the wood. N o w the state of tension or concentration of mind, if he is doing
a n y t h i n g really good i n this s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t t h e i n g r a i n e d h a b i t o f t h e t e c h n i q u e , m a y b e r e p r e s e n t e d b y a m a n e m p l o y i n g all his f i n g e r s t o b e n d t h e steel
o u t o f its o w n c u r v e a n d i n t o t h e exact c u r v e w h i c h you w a n t . S o m e t h i n g
different to what it would a s s u m e naturally.
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T h i s is t h e p o i n t I a i m at, t h e n , in my a r g u m e n t . I p r o p h e s y t h a t a p e r i o d
of dry, h a r d , classical verse is c o m i n g . I h a v e m e t t h e p r e l i m i n a r y o b j e c t i o n
f o u n d e d o n t h e b a d r o m a n t i c aesthetic t h a t i n s u c h verse, f r o m w h i c h t h e
i n f i n i t e is e x c l u d e d , you c a n n o t h a v e t h e e s s e n c e of p o e t r y at all.
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to
* * * P o e t r y * * is a c o m p r o m i s e f o r a l a n g u a g e of i n t u i t i o n w h i c h w o u l d
h a n d over s e n s a t i o n s bodily. I t always e n d e a v o u r s t o a r r e s t you, a n d t o m a k e
you c o n t i n u o u s l y s e e a p h y s i c a l t h i n g , to p r e v e n t you gliding t h r o u g h an
abstract process. It chooses fresh epithets and fresh metaphors, not so m u c h
b e c a u s e t h e y a r e n e w , a n d w e a r e t i r e d o f t h e old, b u t b e c a u s e t h e old c e a s e
to c o n v e y a p h y s i c a l t h i n g a n d b e c o m e a b s t r a c t c o u n t e r s . A p o e t says a s h i p
' c o u r s e d t h e seas' to get a p h y s i c a l i m a g e , i n s t e a d of t h e c o u n t e r w o r d 'sailed'.
Visual m e a n i n g s c a n only b e t r a n s f e r r e d b y t h e n e w b o w l o f m e t a p h o r ; p r o s e
i s a n old p o t t h a t lets t h e m leak o u t . I m a g e s i n verse a r e n o t m e r e d e c o r a t i o n ,
b u t t h e very e s s e n c e of an i n t u i t i v e l a n g u a g e . V e r s e is a p e d e s t r i a n t a k i n g you
over t h e g r o u n d , p r o s e — a t r a i n w h i c h delivers you a t a d e s t i n a t i o n .
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F. S.
F L I N T AND EZRA P O U N D
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2003
* * * T h e p o i n t is t h a t exactly t h e s a m e activity is at w o r k as in t h e h i g h e s t
verse. T h a t i s t h e a v o i d a n c e o f c o n v e n t i o n a l l a n g u a g e i n o r d e r t o get t h e exact
curve of t h e thing.
s
a
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* * * A p o w e r f u l l y i m a g i n a t i v e m i n d seizes a n d c o m b i n e s at t h e s a m e i n s t a n t
all t h e i m p o r t a n t i d e a s of its p o e m or p i c t u r e , a n d w h i l e it w o r k s w i t h o n e of
t h e m , i t i s a t t h e s a m e i n s t a n t w o r k i n g w i t h a n d m o d i f y i n g all i n t h e i r r e l a t i o n
t o i t a n d n e v e r losing sight o f t h e i r b e a r i n g s o n e a c h o t h e r — a s t h e m o t i o n o f
a s n a k e ' s b o d y goes t h r o u g h all p a r t s a t o n c e a n d its volition a c t s a t t h e s a m e
i n s t a n t in coils w h i c h go c o n t r a r y ways.
A r o m a n t i c m o v e m e n t m u s t h a v e a n e n d o f t h e very n a t u r e o f t h e t h i n g . I t
may be deplored, but it can't be helped—wonder must cease to be wonder.
I g u a r d myself h e r e f r o m all t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s of t h e analogy, b u t it
e x p r e s s e s at a n y r a t e t h e i n e v i t a b l e n e s s of t h e p r o c e s s . A l i t e r a t u r e of w o n d e r
m u s t have an e n d as inevitably as a s t r a n g e l a n d loses its s t r a n g e n e s s w h e n
o n e lives in it. T h i n k of t h e lost e c s t a s y of t h e E l i z a b e t h a n s . ' O h my A m e r i c a ,
m y n e w f o u n d land,' 3 t h i n k o f w h a t i t m e a n t t o t h e m a n d o f w h a t i t m e a n s t o
us. W o n d e r c a n only b e t h e a t t i t u d e o f a m a n p a s s i n g f r o m o n e s t a g e t o
a n o t h e r , it c a n n e v e r be a p e r m a n e n t l y fixed t h i n g .
1911-12
1924
3. Line 27 of John Donne's "To His Mistress Going to Bed."
F. S. F L I N T A N D EZRA P O U N D
In the March 1913 issue of Poetry magazine, the English poet and translator F. S.
Flint published an article summarizing an interview with an unidentified "imagiste"—
surely Ezra Pound. T h e article, partly dictated and rewritten by Pound, famously
states the three principles of imagism—directness, economy, musical rhythm—which
Pound later said he and the poets H. D. and Richard Aldington had agreed on in
1912. Flint's prefatory piece was followed in the same issue by Pound's manifesto,
"A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste." There Pound defines the image and issues injunctions
and admonitions to help poets strip their verse of unnecessary rhetoric and abstraction. Poets, he argues, should write direct, musically cadenced, image-grounded verse.
Born in London, F. S. Flint (1885—1960) worked in the British civil service, translated poetry (mostly French), and eventually published volumes of his own imagist
poetry. Ezra Pound (1885—1972) was born in Hailey, Idaho, and was educated at the
University of Pennsylvania and Hamilton College. During his twelve years in London,
from 1908 to 1920, where he became closely associated with W. B. Yeats and T. E.
Hulme, he was the most vigorous entrepreneur of literary modernism, helping James
Joyce, T. S. Eliot, and other writers launch their careers. In London he also began
working on material for his major work, the massive poem The Cantos. Living briefly
in Paris and then for twenty years in Italy as an ardent supporter of the Fascist regime,
he was arrested for treason in 1945, having made Rome Radio broadcasts against the
U.S. war effort. He spent twelve years, from 1946 to 1958, in a Washington, D.C.,
asylum for the criminally insane before returning to Italy, where he fell into an almost
complete silence until the end of his life.