MENDOZA, AIDIE V.
BSED 3-English
SED ENG 322 Literary Criticism
Activity: Poetry Analysis
In a Station of the Metro
by Ezra Pound
Pound's poem is filled with vivid descriptions of nature. The title alone suggest ideas in the
reader's mind, and these descriptions in the title give the reader an idea of what the poem is about,
which is how temporary life is. Metro stations are crowded areas where people must pass every
day to get to their destination; this is one image directly suggested in the title.
These images are further clarified in the next lines, where Pound discusses the 'apparition
of faces in a crowd,' which can be viewed in two ways. The line "apparition of faces in a crowd"
could refer to the fact that the crowd is moving quickly, causing the individual who has been
intently monitoring the crowd to regard them as pure apparitions. The word 'apparition' also
suggests a temporal sense of life's existence, which is the theme suggested in the poem.
Pound expands on this temporal concept of existence in the poem's second line, describing "petals
on a wet, black bough." The words 'petals' and 'bough' imply that something is falling and fading,
as a petal falling from a flower or a branch falling from a tree. A petal or a limb falling from a
flower or a tree (respectively) hint to death or dying. These two images support Pound's title idea
of a temporal concept of existence. The inclusion of the word 'bough' as the last word is also
remarkable, since it implies the persona's fear of life, death, and dying.
The word 'bough' is a synonym for 'gallows,' a device used to execute criminals in the early
centuries, and its use as the poem's last word suggests the persona's impasse in realizing temporal
existence. Pound also uses the word 'wet' to describe the 'petals on a (wet) black bough,' implying
that it must have rained while the persona stayed at the metro station, and the bough fell as a result
of the rain. These brief descriptions of the 'bough' alone suggest inability to prevent any negative
event in life.
In conclusion, Pound employs brief images to convey that life is temporary, and that no
matter how much one tries to avoid it, it will always lead to one thing: death. Some critics believe
the poem is an example of 'Memento Mori' (Latin remember that you will die,'). It may live a few
moments long, but not longer. This metaphor of petals on the surface of bough powerfully yet
simply summarizes the human life and its shortness.