“April”+-+Ezra+Pound

= “April” - Ezra Pound  =

Three spirits came to me > And drew me apart > To where the olive boughs > Lay stripped upon on the ground; > Pale carnage beneath bright mist.

The intellectual and emotional stage which Pound sets is constructed by having the speaker of the poem begin with being invited to what, initially, seems a significant adventure. The implication of this beginning seems to be that not only is the speaker about to take part in this adventure, but also that the noteworthyness of it is justified because either the content of the adventure or the destination imparted upon him some wisdom or gift. It is worth noting that, due to the incorporeal form of his provocateurs, this adventure may be either physical, mental, or spiritual, in nature. Ultimately, however, the poem is be restricted to a series of evocative sensations.

Then, after the picture of the olive branches develops, there is a different level of sensation, overlying the first. The strange conjoining of an abstract detail, the “carnage,” with a setting mainly composed of atmospheric detail, absorbs the entire scene. The effect created is the sensation of moving from a moment of absolute time to a moment of timelessness. It becomes impossible to tell where sensations end and interpretation, or intellectual importance, begins: everything is reduced to detail, and yet the last line seems to hover over the poem in a way that almost forces the physical event into acting as an idea of “pale carnage.” Pound effectively balances the slight details, the stripped olive bough, the mist, ultimately creating an image which evokes devastation and ruin.