Analysis of Commission

Ezra Pound 1885 (Hailey) – 1972 (Venice)



Go, my songs, to the lonely and the unsatisfied,
Go also to the nerve-racked, go to the enslaved-by-convention,
Bear to them my contempt for their oppressors.
Go as a great wave of cool water,
Bear my contempt of oppressors.

Speak against unconscious oppression,
Speak against the tyranny of the unimaginative,
Speak against bonds.
Go to the bourgeoise who is dying of her ennuis,
Go to the women in suburbs.
Go to the hideously wedded,
Go to them whose failure is concealed,
Go to the unluckily mated,
Go to the bought wife,
Go to the woman entailed.

Go to those who have delicate lust,
Go to those whose delicate desires are thwarted,
Go like a blight upon the dulness of the world;
Go with your edge against this,
Strengthen the subtle cords,
Bring confidence upon the algae and the tentacles of the soul.
Go in a friendly manner,
Go with an open speech.
Be eager to find new evils and new good,
Be against all forms of oppression.
Go to those who are thickened with middle age,
To those who have lost their interest.

Go to the adolescent who are smothered in family-
Oh how hideous it is
To see three generations of one house gathered together!
It is like an old tree with shoots,
And with some branches rotted and falling.

Go out and defy opinion,
Go against this vegetable bondage of the blood.
Be against all sorts of mortmain.


Scheme XABCB AXXBXDXXXX EDXXXXCXXAXE XXCXX ADA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (23%)
Metre 111101000010 1101011110011010 11110111010 110111110 11011010 10110010 10101001000100 1011 11011110101 11010010 110100010 111110101 110110 11011 1101001 111111001 1111100010110 11010101101 1111011 100101 11000101000100101 1001010 111101 11011110011 101111010 11111101101 11111110 11001011100100 1110011 11101011110010 11111111 0111010010 11001010 101110010101 1011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,308
Words 242
Sentences 14
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 5, 10, 12, 5, 3
Lines Amount 35
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 211
Words per stanza (avg) 48
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 29, 2023

1:12 min read
461

Ezra Pound

Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic of the early modernist movement. more…

All Ezra Pound poems | Ezra Pound Books

36 fans

Discuss this Ezra Pound poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Commission" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13224/commission>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    29
    days
    14
    hours
    41
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe."
    A Shel Silverstein
    B Lewis Carroll
    C Lord Byron
    D Dr. Seuss