Fan -Piece, For Her Imperial Lord Analysis

O fan of white silk,
clear as frost on the grass-blade,
You also are laid aside.

.: Fan-Piece for Her Imperia :.

In ‘Fan-Piece for Her Imperial Lord’ Ezra Pound reveals how an image can be depicted very briefly:

O fan of white silk,
clear as frost on the grass-blade,

You also are laid aside (Des Imagistes: 45).

There is a ‘fleeting’ quality to this poem, achieved in part by its brevity, but also by the image of the frost. This functions to emphasise the whiteness of the silk fan and also to express its delicate fabric. The white fan is blade shaped, which is reflected in Pound’s use of ‘grass-blade’.
While snow can endure the sun for a period, frost rapidly melts in the sun, which adds to the poem’s temporary quality. The final line indicates that the fleeting moment has passed and the fan is laid aside. However, ‘also’ would suggest that the fan joins something else that has already been discarded. Perhaps a love-affair has come to an end – although delicate and pure (as depicted with ‘clear’) the moment was fleeting, and has come to an end.
‘Fan-Piece for Her Imperial Lord’ is a short poem, yet when examined in greater detail reveals a wealth of imagery. This is one of the most exciting features of Imagism.

| Posted on 2005-12-20 | by Approved Guest

.: Fan-Piece for er Imperia :.

In ‘Fan-Piece for her Imperial Lord’ Ezra Pound reveals how an image can be depicted very briefly:

O fan of white silk,
clear as frost on the grass-blade,

You also are laid aside (Des Imagistes: 45).

There is a ‘fleeting’ quality to this poem, achieved in part by its brevity, but also by the image of the frost. This functions to emphasise the whiteness of the silk fan and also to express its delicate fabric. The white fan is blade shaped, which is reflected in Pound’s use of ‘grass-blade’.
While snow can endure the sun for a period, frost rapidly melts in the sun, which adds to the poem’s temporary quality. The final line indicates that the fleeting moment has passed and the fan is laid aside. However, ‘also’ would suggest that the fan joins something else that has already been discarded. Perhaps a love-affair has come to an end – although delicate and pure (as depicted with ‘clear’) the moment was fleeting, and has come to an end.
‘Fan-Piece for her Imperial Lord’ is a short poem, yet when examined in greater detail reveals a wealth of imagery. This is one of the most exciting features of Imagism.

| Posted on 2005-12-20 | by Approved Guest