Analysis of Phanopoeia
Ezra Pound 1885 (Hailey) – 1972 (Venice)
I
ROSE WHITE, YELLOW, SILVER
The swirl of light follows me through the square,
The smoke of incense
Mounts from the four horns of my bed-posts,
The water-jet of gold light bears us up through the ceilings;
Lapped in the gold-coloured flame I descend through the æther.
The silver ball forms in my hand,
It falls and rolls to your feet.
II
SALTUS
The swirling sphere has opened
and you are caught up to the skies,
You are englobed in my sapphire.
Io! Io!
You have perceived the blades of the flame
The flutter of sharp-edged sandals.
The folding and lapping brightness
Has held in the air before you.
You have perceived the leaves of the flame.
III
CONCAVA VALLIS
The wire-like bands of colour involute mount from my fingers;
I have wrapped the wind round your shoulders
And the molten metal of your shoulders
bends into the turn of the wind,
AOI!
The whirling tissue of light
is woven and grows solid beneath us;
The sea-clear sapphire of air, the sea-dark clarity,
stretches both sea-cliff and ocean.
Scheme | AB XCXXBXX ACXXBX DX EXD AXFFFX GXEGX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1 111010 0111101101 01101 110111111 01011111111010 1001101101101 01011011 1101111 1 1 0101110 01111101 11101100 1010 110101101 01011110 01001010 11001011 110101101 1 110 0101111111110 111011110 0010101110 10101101 10 010111 1100110011 01110011011100 10111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 980 |
Words | 180 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 7, 6, 2, 3, 6, 5 |
Lines Amount | 31 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 19, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 98 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Phanopoeia" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13318/phanopoeia>.
Discuss this Ezra Pound poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In