Introducing:
Ezra Pound
~And the days are not full enough and Francesca
By: Daisy Chen, Wendy Zheng, Nicolas
Johnson, and Kenrick Yip
Background:
Ezra Pound was a major figure in the early modernist
movement in poetry. He was known for developing
Imagism, a movement in poetry in the early 20th century
that the American and English poets sought clarity of
expression through the use of precise image. Imagism
was a reaction against the Georgian Romanticism. Many
Georgian Romanticists are carefree thinkers who favored
the use of imprecise language, while Imagism encouraged
the use of specific language and simple imagery. Imagists
influenced free verse poets throughout the 20th century.
Ezra Pound: Autobiography
 Ezra Loomis Pound was born on a frontier in Hailey, Idaho in 1885. At
the age of 2, he and his family moved Philadelphia. Not much is known
about his childhood other than him being raised the suburb of Wyncote
until his education at the University of Pennsylvania Hamilton College
in 1905. In search of culture, Ezra moved East. All of his mistakes
however came in the form of moving West. After his education in
comparative languages, Pound took a teaching position at Wabash
College. Given his wide range of achievements he could easily have
become a teacher and a scholar, however a scandal involving Pound
offering a night of hospitality to woman but a permanent halt to both
Pound’s academic career and his job at Wabash College. In 1908 he
published his first book of poems, “Tume Spento” in Venice and then
traveled to London to spend the next 12 years embarking literature.
After the war between Italy and the United States, he was indicted for
treason. He was labeled unfit for trial due to some accounts of insanity.
He experienced mental breakdown from his harsh treatment when
captured in Italy. He was therefore sent to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital.
After his release in 1958, Pound spent the last 10 years of his life as a
social outcast.
Poet: Ezra Pound
 And the days are
not full enough
And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass
 Francesca
You came in out of the night
And there were flowers in your hand,
Now you will come out of a confusion
of people,
Out of a turmoil of speech about you.
I who have seen you amid the primal
things
Was angry when they spoke your name
IN ordinary places.
I would that the cool waves might flow
over my mind,
And that the world should dry as a dead
leaf,
Or as a dandelion see-pod and be swept
away,
So that I might find you again,
Alone.
And the days are not full enoughPoem Analysis
And the days are not full
enough A
And the nights are not full
enough A
And life slips by like a field
mouse B
Not shaking the grass C
The first line “And the days
are not full enough” indicates
that the poet is complaining
that life is too short. It is too
short for an individual to
achieve all the goals. The
“And” emphasizes this point.
The second line
reemphasizes that one lifespin is not enough for a
person to complete his
dreams. He used identical
rhyme in these two lines.
“And life slips by like a field
mouse- Not shaking the
grass” shows that life passes
by quietly without us
knowing.
And the days are not full enough
/ U / U / U /
And the days are not full enough
U /
U / U /
U
And the nights are not full enough
/ U /
U / U /
U
And life slips by like a field mouse
/
U
/ U
Not shaking the grass
Explanation
And the Days are Not Full Enough
This poem is about life is too short in general. The poet
wants to accomplish many things, but the days and nights are
too short for him. Twenty four hours a day is not sufficient. Time
slips from him “like a field mouse” and it will be gone forever.
The poet encourages us to not waste any time in our lives
because time does not stay and it just keeps moving forward.
Death can comes upon us at any moment. The poet wants us to
live our lives to the fullest without any regret.
In addition, the poet used symbolism in the last line, “And life
slips by like a field mouse- Not shaking the grass.” The field
mouse symbolizes quiet. The grass symbolizes our dream and
goal. Together the entire line brings out the idea that before we
can accomplish anything, we are gone. We will no longer exist
in this world.
Significance
“And the Days are Not Full Enough” is a simple
poem, but with significance meaning. The poem
seems to speak right to us. It influences the audience
to make use of their time wisely.
It is important for us to understand poetry because it
deepens our understanding of lives. Although
sometimes it shows the ugly side of our world, it also
shows the positive side. Many poems encourage us
to do the things we never dare to do before.
Furthermore, they are pieces of beautiful art.
Francesca- Poem Analyisis



You came in out of the night A
And there were flowers in your hand, B
Now you will come out of a confusion
of people, C
Out of a turmoil of speech about you.
D
I who have seen you amid the primal
things E
Was angry when they spoke your
name
IN ordinary places. F
I would that the cool waves might flow
over my mind, G
And that the world should dry as a
dead leaf, H
Or as a dandelion see-pod and be
swept away, I
So that I might find you again, J
Alone. K
She stands out in the night time
She seems more graceful and beautiful
Now as people surround her, she seems
less special.
A lot of people talk about her
He has seen her with others in a better
scenario
She’s special and outstanding
I would be in shock-like a brain freeze
“Curse the world” for not seeing such
beauty and cherish it
Such beauty is overlooked
But I see it even when others don’t
And may we one day meet
Francesca
/ U / U / U /
You came in out of the night
U /
U
/
U / U
And there were flowers in your hand,
/
U / U /
U
/ U / U /
Now you will come out of a confusion of people,
U / U /
U /
U
/
Out of a turmoil of speech about you.
U/ U
/
U
/
U /
U
I who have seen you amid the primal things
/
U
/
U /
U /
Was angry when they spoke your name
/ U
/
IN ordinary places.
U / U / U
/
U
/
U /
U
I would that the cool waves might flow over my mind,
/
U /
U
/
U / U / U
And that the world should dry as a dead leaf,
/ U / U
/
U /
U
/
Or as a dandelion see-pod and be swept away,
U / U /
U /
U
So that I might find you again,
/
Alone.
Explanation
I believe that this poem means is trying to tell the reader about
how he longs to meet the girl of his dreams who is really
beautiful. Everyone talks about her and he feels that she is
really special and no one appreciates her true beauty. She is
seen with many people but she is more beautiful compared to
them. He appreciates her beauty and feels like she should be
treated more special. He was “angry” when they spoke her
name “IN ordinary places”.
Lastly, he says “so that I might find you, Alone”. I think this
means that he’s seen her with many people and he someday
wants to meet her alone.
Significance
This poem reaches out to the reader because it is trying to
tell the reader to appreciate true beauty even when others
don’t. It influences the reader because it is trying to say
how beauty is often overlooked and appreciate it.
Also, through poetry, he truly explains and expresses his
thought through literary elements so the reader has a
deeper understanding of what he’s trying to say or his
message to us.
Poetry
Poems are used to express personal
thoughts and/or tell a story. Through these
two poems, we have seen the work of a poet
who used his poems to express his feelings.
We have seen how poetry can help us
express our feelings and our moods or even
to get a message through.
Original Poem: The Lost Girl
She is trapped in her maze
All she can do is gaze
Wondering if this is her fate
Laying in wait
Recalling when she was eight
A smile was always on her face
But now the smile is erased
And she is lost in her maze
By: Wendy Zheng
Original Poems:
I stand tall
Even when I fall
I’m always dared
Even when I’m scared
I am not a rock
Even though my heart’s locked
I am fragile and weak
Yet I’m strong and always in seek
The world is my oyster
I’m the pearl
By: Daisy Chen
Original Poem
I am swagger
Stay sharper than a dagger
Stay at home
Writing these poems
Everything on the dinner plate
Especially the cake
Knows its fate
Going down the toilet hours after I ate
By: Kenrick Yip
Original Poem
Every day and every night
Life passes by like a ship in the night
With no waves or currents to change its course
Sweetly it will become a subject of remorse
By: Nicolas Johnson
Bibliography
 Encyclopedia of American Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. N.p.: Facts on
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File, 2008. Print. Revised.
Magill, Frank N. Notable Poets. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 1998. Print
"Summary of "And the Days Are Not Full Enough"" Worlds Largest
Collection of Essays Published by Experts. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June
2013.
"A Brief Guide to Imagism." - Poets.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2013.
Ezra Pound: Brief Biography and Selected Poems. eLibrary. Web. 01
Jun. 2013.