Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Ezra Pound's "Moeurs Contemporaines," the poet weaves together various vignettes to create a mosaic that reflects different aspects of modern life and relationships. The poem is a rich tapestry of characters, some trivial and some profound, each symbolizing a particular element of society or human emotion. Whether it's Mr. Hecatomb Styrax, with his inability to appreciate aesthetics, leading his wife from one spiritual endeavor to another, or Clara, writing from a convent with her life "obscure and troubled," Pound portrays a range of human complexities and contradictions.

Take Mr. Styrax, for instance. He's a person of wealth and physical prowess but lacks emotional and intellectual depth, driving his wife into a series of religious pursuits. Their situation demonstrates the breakdown of traditional marital and gender roles, and how personal incompetence can inadvertently send others into a quest for meaning. The "empire is maintained," as Pound says, not through the strength of its pillars, but through the inertia of its cycles, its unwillingness to evolve.

Clara, on the other hand, is the epitome of wasted potential. At sixteen, she was a "potential celebrity," but life has overwhelmed her, trapping her in an unhappy marriage and an unfulfilling emotional landscape. Her correspondence reflects the unfocused desires of a person who is neither content inside nor capable of breaking out. This sense of stagnant potential echoes across various lives sketched in the poem.

Then there is the "young American pilgrim," who sees a family engaged in the literary arts and promptly labels them a "darn'd clever bunch." His superficial judgment mirrors Mr. Styrax's ignorance in a way, emphasizing how, in modern times, the appearance of intellectualism or creativity might be enough to gain social currency.

The sixth part of the poem, "Stele," perhaps serves as a summary of the whole work. It tells the story of a man who, after years of restraint, indulges himself with six women. Despite the intensity, he is left empty and quenched, lying by the "poluphloisboious sea-coast." The Latin phrase "Siste Viator," meaning "stop, traveler," suggests a moment of pause or reflection, implying that this lifestyle, like the others presented, leads to a dead end.

The final sections reminisce about old men with "beautiful manners," nostalgic figures who belong to a bygone era. They represent a type of humanity that is becoming extinct. The poem then closes with a "Ritratto" of a conversation between the speaker and an old lady who recounts brief, poignant anecdotes about significant figures such as Shelley and Lowell. She serves as a living archive, a reminder of past cultural richness that seems at odds with the present illustrated in the poem.

"Moeurs Contemporaines" thus stands as an impressionistic portrait of modern life, a life replete with contradictions, unfocused desires, and superficial judgments. In narrating these diverse accounts, Pound offers no solutions but renders a world that is in dire need of introspection and perhaps, transformation.

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