In a Station of the Metro
In A Station of the Metro
Ezra Pound
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough
This weekend, I had to write a poetry response to Ezra Pound's "In A Station of the Metro." I knew that Pound had worked with Mussolini's regime during World War II, doing something involving radio broadcasting, and that he wrote his Cantos while imprisoned by the Allied powers. So, I had a somewhat bad taste in my mouth before I started reading.
However, as I read the poem, I came to like it. To me, "Station" puts the two images, faces in a crowd and petals on a tree, alongside to comment on urban alienation and conformity. Most of my analysis was written with this in mind. However, on the other side of the textbook page, there was some commentary from the editors, including a note from Pound where he explains his attempt to express the "beauty" of what he had witnessed in the subway station in Paris.
I remember a scene in V for Vendetta (the comic, not the movie, assholes) where the head of state gives a long internal monologue on, among other things, his love for fascism. He mentions the etymology of the word, fasces and how the Romans found strength in a bundle of birch branches; that is, strength through conformity and unity. Compare the birch branches to "petals on a wet, black bough."
So:
Is Pound denouncing or rejoicing in conformity? Does this poem contain fascist ideals? Did my sparse knowledge of Pound's background ruin the reading for me?