A collection of images compiled by students in Professor Victoria Ford Smith's Fall 2021 British Literature II course. Please see the assignment prompt on HuskyCT for more information.

CONTENT WARNING: This gallery contains racist imagery. Please take care of yourself accordingly.

Images in this Exhibit

Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro" and Perceived Distance from Community

A painting of a small crowd of faceless figures. Their hair colors are distinct, and shadows under the brows, chin, and nose give the impression of faces, but there are no distinct facial features on any of them. The enviornment seems to be an underground train station, with dark walls and a white ceiling. , A greyscale painting which depicts a group of people, mostly men, loosely surrounding a male figure who reads from a book. There are trees in the background, and the foremost figure in the crowd has his back to the viewer. , A colorful mass of what appears to be hundreds or thousands of figures. The figures are interpretably human, as they appear to have heads and torsos, but there are so many that none have distinguishable features. In the far background, white spires extend into the sky, perhaps giving the impression of towers or sailboats. , A greyscale etching which depicts a large structure, with unfamiliar architecture including a drawbridge (though it is not over any water), and which has very small human figures dotting its various walkways and bridges.

Introduction

“In a Station of the Metro” is a two-line poem written by Ezra Pound, crafted with the Japanese haiku form in mind. As it is so short, I can quote it in full here:

“The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
Petals on a wet, black bough.”

Originally, as stated by Pound, “In a Station of the Metro” was written to convey beauty. In an article regarding the poem, he wrote: “… I got out of a "metro" train… and saw suddenly a beautiful face, and then another and another, and then a beautiful child's face, and then another…

The Beauty Behind a “Sea Rose” A Modernist Gallery Based on H.D’S “Sea Rose”

A photograph of Lily Elsie, posing for a black and white portrait. , Three women photographed packing boxes of supplies for their country during the war. , Two Stanza poem on growing old by Amy Lowell , Three stanza poem about the Lily flower by H.D.

Introduction 

For hundreds of years, beauty has been a large theme across famous literary and art pieces. It has been interpreted in numerous ways, focusing on the one word that can be deemed as very vague, while working to understand its depth in complex ways. The word beauty has never been static, its countless definitions and qualifications make it a flexible and ever-changing word. There seems to be a universal understanding that beauty does not have one meaning, but instead can be interpreted differently over many cultures, time periods, and…

The Life and Influence of Ezra Pound

Painting depicts a group of people walking about in a crowded space. , Two examples of Futurist poems by the Italian author Filippo Marinetti. , Ezra Pound poses for a photograph in his Parisian apartment alongside Quinn, Joyce, and Ford , Ezra Pound shows a Fascist salute while in Italy in the mid-20th Century.

Ezra Pound was one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century– mainly due to his part in establishing the norms of the Imagist poetry movement; a cohort stemming from the Modernist style in the early 1900’s. Pound, being a front-runner of this particular literary movement, took it upon himself to create a “List of Don'ts” which writers could follow in order to more closely adhere to what Pound saw as being the tenets of Imagist writing. This somewhat egotistical and controlling move is in direct opposition to the free-flowing nature of Imagist writing, as well as the…

Wilfred Owen "Dulce et Decorum Est" and Representation of WWI

Kaiser Wilhelm II on a horse looking down on Jesus tending to a woman , Apparition of Jesus on the cross over the body of a fallen soldier , Train of blindfolded soldiers superintended by a medical orderly , Lord Kitchener pointing finger at you. Lord Kitchener wants you poster

Introduction

 ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ is a Latin phrase that translates to ‘it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.’  Wilfred Owen has chosen this line for his 1920 literary work with the intent to reject this idea. As someone who had experienced the horrors of trench war and a gas attack, Owen understands how war is far from sweet and not fitting to die for one’s country.  In ‘Dulce et Decorum Est,” he focuses only on one scene, the moment of the platoon of soldiers getting attacked with chlorine gas, to show the terrifying…

“Dulce et Decorum est” and Exploring the WW1 Propaganda Wilfred Owen Disapproved of

A German soldier and general watch on proudly as their aircraft bomb a hospital. , Soldier stands in front of burning town, mother and child run to him , Veteran greets a young soldier heading off to war , Soldiers ride on horses, narrowly dodge a bomb

Introduction

Written by Wilfred Owen during World War One and published after his death, “Dulce Et Decorum Est” is one of the most famed anti-war works from this period of British history. In the poem, Owen presents a vignette depicting a group of soldiers who are attacked with chlorine gas. One soldier fails to secure his mask in time and succumbs to the gruesome effects of the gas. After presenting this horrific imagery, Owen calls out those who glorify the war:

“If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-…

Exhibit Tags
modernism
Group content visibility
Private - accessible only to group members
Vetted?
Not Vetted
Groups audience
UConn ENGL 2101, Fall 2021 (Smith)