Ezra Pound, Personae

Jon Elek (Queen Mary, University of London)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication Apr 1909

Places

England (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

Pound’s third volume – his first commercially successful one – was published by Elkin Matthews, the proprietor of a prominent London bookshop just off Piccadilly Circus. It should not be confused with a 1926 book of the same name, which gathers most of Pound’s poetry outside his Cantos. Both volumes are in effect collections, although the 1909 Personae includes seventeen poems published for the first time. These represent a key phase in Pound’s poetic development, and are the subject of this entry.

The concept of the “persona” (or its plural, “personae”) occupies a central position in Pound’s poetic process. It translates into English as “mask” but Pound’s fidelity to the Latin reflects a…

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1052 words

Citation: Elek, Jon. "Personae". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 April 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2841, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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