Grace Before Song by Ezra Pound

Grace Before Song by Ezra Pound

Lord God of heaven that with mercy fight

Th'alternate prayer wheel of the night and light

Eternal hath to thee, and in whose sight

Our days as rain drops in the sea surge fall,

As bright white drops upon a leaden sea

Grant so my songs to this grey folk may be:

As drops that dream and gleam and falling catch the sun

Evan'scent mirrors every opal one

Of such his splendor as their compass is,

So, bold My Songs, seek ye such death as this.

Outline

Introduction (early life and family of the writer, writing career, writing style, major works, death)

Background of Poem

Explanation – Stanza Wise

Themes in the Poem

Literary Devices in the Poem

Critical Analysis of the Poem

Conclusion (relation of the poem with our lives/society)

Introduction of Poet

His full name is “Ezra Weston Loomis Pound” and is mostly known as “Ezra Pound” in the literary world. He was born on the 30th of October in 1885 in Hailey. His father was Loomis Pound, a federal land office official, and his mother was Isabel Pound. He was only a child so he enjoyed the bliss of childhood. Unfortunately, his father died in 1942, and his mother left him in 1948.

Ezra Pound, a leading figure of the 20th century, successfully established his career; first as a poet and later as a critic. He became a poet at a very young age in 1896 in Jenkintown Times-Chronicle. During his educational career, he studied nine languages including, Spanish, French, Old English Romance languages, and the Provencal dialect. The knowledge of these languages added colour to his unique writing style. During his stay in America, he compiled his first poetry book, A Lume Spento, but failed to get it published.

Ezra pound stands among the most influential figures of the 20th century. His concise writing style and unique ideas added a lot to the world of English literature. This versatility can be seen in his epic poem “Cantos” which exhibits a mixture of essays, elegies, hymns, and satire. Marked by heavy use of imagery, symbolism, free verse, and dramatic lyricism, his writings won global recognition. He was also the co-founder of the imagism movement that emphasizes the use of precise language to craft sharp and clear images in poetry. The use of Haiku, a Japanese poetic form and ideogrammic method, and the Chinese poetic form made his writing stand unique. Since he is considered the most important modernist poet, his pieces fail to follow conventional forms and discursiveness typical of Victorian and Romantic poets. Rather, he believes that the individuality of a poet is expressed better through free verse. The recurring themes in most of his writings are memoirs, culture, art, society, governance, and economics.

Best poems: He was an outstanding poet. Some of his best poems include: “In a Station of the Metro”, “The Cantos”, “The Seafarer”, “Ballad of the Goodly Fere”, “Hugh Selwyn Mauberley” and “The Return.” Other Works: Besides poetry, he tried his hands at prose and nonfiction. Some of them include ABC of Economics, Digest of the Analects, Instigations, Literary Essays, and Make it New.

Ezra Pound, a great writer, and critic, faced severe health issues during the last eleven years of his life. Despite facing these issues, he never gave up on life and travelled to Dublin, New York, and London from 1965 to 1967. In 1972, he became completely bedridden and died of an intestinal blockage on the 1st of November 1972. Ezra was buried at Isola di San Michele.

Background of Poem

This poem was written in 1920 - after World War I, so it has more association with people who suffered from the war, especially people remaining war in a traumatic situation. After the war the poetry became experimental that’s why its focus is on the mental condition of humans who lost their family members, friends and other relatives. To some extent, this poetry talks about the hopes which are carried by conscious and struggling people in society.

Explanation of poem

This very stanza begins with the hymn of God and the poet calls God as merciful as He is dealing with everyone so gently. Further, it says that the light of day comes after the night and their wheel completes itself because of the prayers done for it. Moreover, the poet declares that God is immortal and eternal forever, so in front of Him or in His sight our days are like rain that drops in the falling large sea wave.

In the second stanza, the poet wishes that as bright and white and fresh drops of rain fall upon the sea especially the leaden sea having darkness. Similarly, God just grant or give my poetry such a power that affects the people who will ever read it.

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