What is Imagism?
Simply put, Imagism was a movement in early 20th-century English and American poetry which sought clarity of expression through the use of precise images. The primary goal was to utilize sharp and concrete diction to create clear imagery for the reader. In this way, Imagist works aimed to use words to re-create the physical experience that an object would present. This meant that most Imagist works avoided a narrative tone, which was a firm rejection to previous forms of Victorian poetry.
Ezra Pound's Principles of Imagism
Ezra Pound, the forefather of Imagism, best described the foundation of Imagism in an article he wrote in Poetry Magazine in 1913. He depicted an image as something which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instance of time. To him, great works of art were complex in that they could offer liberation and freedom from time and space, and give the reader an opportunity for growth.
“It is better to present one Image in a lifetime than to produce voluminous works.” - Ezra Pound Poetry Magazine 1913
Pound also enlisted three primary principles that he believed were instrumental to Imagism:
Language
Pound claimed that no writer should use any word that doesn’t contribute or reveal something in the work.
For example Pound stated: "Don’t use an expression such as dim lands of peace. It dulls the image. It mixes an abstraction with the concrete. It comes from the writer’s not realizing that the natural object is always the adequate symbol,” (Par. 6).
In other words, don’t introduce abstraction in writing as a substitute for concrete detail or symbolism.
Rhythm and Rhyme
Pound noted that the rhythm of poetry must be presented as a musical phrase. In fact, he wrote that it is better for a poet to craft their writing cadence in a foreign language so that the meaning of words don’t shift the attention from their movement on a page.
He also established more “don’ts” in the realm of rhythm and rhyme, as he explaind that poets shouldn’t be descriptive, but should leave that to painters. Poets also shouldn’t be “viewy” but should leave that to writers of “pretty little philosophical essays.”
According to Pound, poets should however behave as musicians, as the art of writing highlights direct parallels in the art of music.
“It is not necessary that a poem should rely on its music, but if it does rely on its music that music must be such as will delight the expert.” - Ezra Pound Poetry Magazine 1913
Pound also commented on form and flow, as he directed poets to not destroy the shape of words with rhythmic structure. He noted that poems should not be chopped into separate iambs. A poet should not allow each line to stop dead at the end, because it forces the next line to begin with a heave. Instead poetry should allow the beginning of the next line to "catch the rise of the rhythm wave," (Par. 16).
First Issue of Poetry Magazine, October 1912
References:
Pound, Ezra. “A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste by Ezra Pound.” 1913. Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, Oct. 2005, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/58900/a-few-do….