It is general consensus that a person away from their home experiences moments where they long for it, and they consider it the most ideal place. Ezra Pound wrote his “In Durance” poem to express his yearning for his family and friends while he is in a foreign land. The author relocated from his home in the US after a scandalous affair and set for Europe where he led a life devoted to writing poems and scholarly articles ( Clark, 2019 ). The poem “In Durance” explores the theme of homesickness and uses multiple poetic devices. Pound uses these literary devices to express his longing toward his home and his kin as well as to create rhythm.
The poem has a sad mood and the author expresses a constant yearning for his home and friends. In his opening paragraph, the author admits that he is homesick and that the place he held for his family and friends cannot be filled in his new environment. He states “ Oh I know that there are folk about me, friendly faces,/ But I am homesick after mine own kind ”. Pound then sets to express his sentiments and feelings towards his kin and his home using warm words. The tone of the poem matches his theme of homesickness which is reiterated extensively with repetition throughout the poem. To this the author states “ I am wistful for my kin of the spirit/ And have none about me save in the shadows ”. He is sad that he is unable to trace his kind presently around him and he lacks company that shares the same appreciation for things he likes.
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The author uses multiple instances of imagery to add depth to the poem. Pound uses similes to describe and quantify his emotions. He compares his love for his family like to the companionship of the wind and the trees ‘ For that I love ye as the wind the trees’. The author uses the simile to set the stage for the explanation of his need for his kin for comfort, love, and completion of some of his activities, just like the tree and wind need each other for some events-‘ That holds their blossoms and their leaves in cure/ And calls the utmost singing from the boughs’ . Similarly, the author uses metaphors to explain his new environment and his attitude towards it where he writes ‘ As bore my tortoise house scant years agone ’. Personification is also used to in this description of the nature of the wind and its relationship to the tree; their love, the singing of the bough, and holding blossoms. The author also fondly starts off the description of his homeland using the tree’s communication to the birds. He writes ‘ Still shade, and bade no whisper speak the birds of how/ "Beyond, beyond, beyond, there lies...." ’. Pound also uses metaphors to provide a colorful mental image of the seas that separate him from his friends when he writes “ with the seas between us some be,/ Purple and sapphire for the silver shafts ”. Additionally, he uses personification to describe the lonesome nature of foreigners, including him, who rarely meet each other. He writes “ And are untouched by echoes of the world ”. The use of imagery may also be identified in the description on the sea when the author describes the water and sunlight, where he notes “ Of sun and spray all shattered at the bows”. The pictures and sensations created by the imagery in the poem hue our interpretation of the situation and work to progress the tone set by the author.
Perhaps the most frequent and consistent style used by the author is repetition. Throughout, the poem the author uses repetition to emphasize his longing for his home and also to create rythm. The sentence “ I am homesick after mine own kind ” appears extensively after which the author goes to explain the reason why he feels homesick. The author maintains that the new environment he resides also has other people who may be friendly, though he still longs for his fellow countrymen. He also argues that the people in his current residence do not appeal to him and he longs for company that appreciates the same things he does and shares his sentiments “ After mine own kind that know, and feel/ And have some breath for beauty and the arts ”. He further notes that his “kindred” (kin is also repeated), those who are in the foreign land, also share his habit of remaining hidden and only come out occasionally “ And burst forth to the windows only whiles or whiles/ Then smoulder, with the lids half closed ”. Similarly, the author writes “ Yea thou, and Thou, and THOU, and all my kin ” while talking about the unity and love he has for his kin. Repetition is also used for emphasis on the distance of the writer’s home to his current residence in the last line of the poem where he writes, "Beyond, beyond, beyond, there lies....", which also creates rhythm in the poem. The use of repetition emphasizes the author’s homesickness and ensures the reader or listener resonates with this feeling throughout the poem.
“ In Durance” also features multiple sound devices to appeal to the listener and make it more vibrant. This is evident in “ Purple and sapphire for the silver shafts/ Of sun and spray all shattered at the bows ” where the alliteration provided by the repeated ‘s’ provides rhythm while it also makes the poem more energetic. Further instances of alliteration like “hills hold” and “that thout” also help the author to develop rhythm in the poem. This is integral for the poem, which is lyrical, but does not have a regular rhyme scheme. Rather, Pound uses enjambment throughout the poem and most lines are continuous “ But reach me not and all my life's become/ One flame, that reacheth not beyond/ Mine heart's own hearth, ”.
Pound uses various styles and devices to not only make the poem more lively and appealing, but to also help the reader resonate with the emotion the poem seeks to get across. The poem explores the theme of sadness due to homesickness and the longing that afflicts travellers, and also the challenges a person experiences in fitting in. The poem is lyrical in nature and the poet uses repetition and alliteration alongside other sound devices to achieve rhythm.
References
Clark, I. (2019). Full text of "A Guide To Ezra Pound 18851920 With Special Emphasis On His Poetic Theory And Practice.." Retrieved 12 August 2019, from https://archive.org/stream/AGuideToEzraPound18851920WithSpecialEmphasisOnHisPoeticTheoryAndPractice./a+Guide+to+Ezra+Pound+18851920+with+Special+Emphasis+on+his+Poetic+Theory+and+Practice._djvu.txt
Pound, E. (2019). In Durance. Retrieved 12 August 2019, from https://scalar.lehigh.edu/ezra-pound/in-durance
