Instigations

Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 563K words
Chapters: 57

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Instigations by Ezra PoundAuthor: Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Sep 24, 2012

Editor's review

Instigations is a collection of literary criticism and essays by Ezra Pound, giving concentrated expression to his judgments on poetic tradition, verbal precision, and literary taste. The essays carry a strong personal stance and a polemical edge, discussing specific authors and works while also reflecting on the methods of literary criticism. For Chinese readers its value lies not in offering a systematic course but in providing a close-up view of how a modernist poet selects from tradition and advances his claims with an editor's eye. Pound's style is direct and跳跃, densely allusive, and demands some background in English and American literature as well as patience. It suits as supplementary reading for modernist poetics and twentieth-century criticism, and for writers or translators seeking to grasp a critical posture of "precision" and "innovation." As a public-domain ebook, version information is limited; use it alongside notes or introductory materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in modernist poetry and Pound's poetics
Upper-level students studying the history of twentieth-century English and American literary criticism
Writers who want to see how a poet practices criticism
Translation learners who need public-domain English texts for close reading

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking a systematic introduction to literary theory
General readers who prefer light narrative or fiction
Readers with low tolerance for dense allusions and polemical English prose

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents and opening pages, mark essays on authors you know, then read by interest.
Keep pen and paper to note Pound's central judgments; after finishing, review whether his arguments hold together.
Skip unfamiliar quotations at first to keep the overall rhythm; check key sources on a second pass.
Read alongside criticism by other modernist poets to form your own questions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a poetry collection or a collection of criticism?

Judging by the classification and title, it belongs to literature, criticism, and collections (Class PN), and is closer to criticism and essays than to a collection of Pound's own poems. For the specific contents, consult the ebook's main text; browse the table of contents before reading to confirm the scope.

Can I read it without a background in English and American literature?

You can, but it will be demanding. Pound alludes heavily and jumps between topics; without some knowledge of nineteenth- to early twentieth-century English and American literature, it is easy to lose track of whom he is arguing with. Read a concise history of modernist literature first, or begin with essays on authors you already know.

Does this edition include notes or an introduction?

The information shows only that it is a Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook and does not indicate notes or an introduction. Such editions usually present the original text alone; pair it with reliable historical background or a scholarly guide to lower the threshold.

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About the author

Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972 Author

Ezra Pound (1885–1972) was a major figure in twentieth-century Anglo-American modernist poetry. Although much is known about his life, this entry offers only a brief introduction based on the works listed in the library and widely accepted general knowledge. The library holds eight of his works, including poetry collections such as Cathay, Personae, Exultations, Lustra of Ezra Pound, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, and Canzoni & Ripostes, as well as the critical prose work Instigations and Poems 1918-21, Including Three Portraits and Four Cantos. These works show him engaged not only in poetry but also in criticism and translation, with a style marked by verbal precision, vivid imagery, and an active absorption of classical and East Asian poetic resources. Cathay reflects his creative translation and adaptation of classical Chinese poetry, while Hugh Selwyn Mauberley is often regarded as representative of his poetic craft and critical reflection on his era. Pound's writing and editorial activity had a profound influence on formal innovation and international exchange in modern English-language poetry.