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The apparition of these faces in the crowd; |
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Petals on a wet, black bough.
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Analysis
The poem is considered on of the leading poems of the Imagist tradition. Pound's process of deletion from thirty lines to ony fourteen words typifies Imagism's focus on economy of language, precision of imagery and experimenting with non-traditional verse forms. This poem is Pound's written equivalent for the moment of revelation and intense emotion he felt at the Metro at La Concorde, Paris.
In a poem of this sort, one is trying to record the precise instant when a thing outward and objective transforms itself, or darts into a thing inward and subjective. The word "apparition" is considered crucial as it evokes a mystical and supernatural sense of imprecision which is then reinforced by the metaphor of the second line. The plosive word 'petals' conjures ideas of delicate, feminine beauty which contrasts with the bleakness of the 'wet, black bough'.