Hugh Selwyn Mauberley
Serge Andreou
John Whittier-Ferguson
English 313
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley IV+V: Leading by Example
In part 1, Sections IV and V of Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, Pound writes a powerful condemnation of war and its effects. Pound writes of the soldiers who were sent off to die for a country that is “an old bitch gone in the teeth” and not worth the “wastage” of life in
Pound’s estimation. Even the arts are criticized, Pound calling them nothing more than
“two gross of battered statues” and “a few thousand battered books”. However, by virtue of being written in opposition to the infirmities of society,
Mauberley
elevates itself above them and exemplifies the values necessary in a worthy poem.
Pound creates an interesting tension in
Mauberley
by condemning society and the arts, while at the same time penning a piece that’s worthier of defense due to its superiority to the subject matter and its value to the reader.
It is through Pound’s variation between the candor in his poem and the falsehoods present in the culture he’s condemning that he proves
Mauberley’s
worth relative to the society he is condemning. Pound calls war “hell” and accuses the leaders of society, the “old men” and “liars”, of not only sending men to war on these false premises, but compounding their folly by allowing the survivors to return “home to many deceits”.
Mauberley
gains impact by taking the stance of an observer of these events, having witnessed those who
“fought”, the “lies” that they believed in and the “disillusions never told in days before” that they experienced. It could be argued that there is some embellishment in the poem, but
there are no points that couldn’t be argued to be true. For instance, whether this war saw
“daring as never before” is a debatable point, but there was most certainly “wastage as never before”. Through this almost factual recounting,
Mauberley segregates itself from its perfidious subject matter. Itt gains the moral high ground through the virtue of
John Whittier-Ferguson
English 313
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley IV+V: Leading by Example
In part 1, Sections IV and V of Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, Pound writes a powerful condemnation of war and its effects. Pound writes of the soldiers who were sent off to die for a country that is “an old bitch gone in the teeth” and not worth the “wastage” of life in
Pound’s estimation. Even the arts are criticized, Pound calling them nothing more than
“two gross of battered statues” and “a few thousand battered books”. However, by virtue of being written in opposition to the infirmities of society,
Mauberley
elevates itself above them and exemplifies the values necessary in a worthy poem.
Pound creates an interesting tension in
Mauberley
by condemning society and the arts, while at the same time penning a piece that’s worthier of defense due to its superiority to the subject matter and its value to the reader.
It is through Pound’s variation between the candor in his poem and the falsehoods present in the culture he’s condemning that he proves
Mauberley’s
worth relative to the society he is condemning. Pound calls war “hell” and accuses the leaders of society, the “old men” and “liars”, of not only sending men to war on these false premises, but compounding their folly by allowing the survivors to return “home to many deceits”.
Mauberley
gains impact by taking the stance of an observer of these events, having witnessed those who
“fought”, the “lies” that they believed in and the “disillusions never told in days before” that they experienced. It could be argued that there is some embellishment in the poem, but
there are no points that couldn’t be argued to be true. For instance, whether this war saw
“daring as never before” is a debatable point, but there was most certainly “wastage as never before”. Through this almost factual recounting,
Mauberley segregates itself from its perfidious subject matter. Itt gains the moral high ground through the virtue of