Synopsis
Despite the painstaking work of Pound scholars, the mythos of The Cantos has yet to be properly understood ā primarily because until now its occult sources have not been examined sufficiently. Drawing upon archival as well as recently published material, this study traces Pound's intimate engagement with specific occultists (W.B. Yeats, Allen Upward, Alfred Orage, and G.R.S. Mead) and their ideas. The author argues that speculative occultism was a major factor in the evolution of Pound's extraordinary aesthetic and religious sensibility, much noticed in Pound criticism. The discussion falls into two sections. The first section details Pound's interest in particular occult movements. It describes the tradition of Hellenistic occultism from Eleusis to the present, and establishes that Pound's contact with the occult began at least as early as his undergraduate years and that he came to London already primed on the occult. Many of his London acquaintances were unquestionably occultists. The second section outlines a tripartite schema for The Cantos ( katabasis/dromena/epopteia ) which, in turn, is applied to the poem. It is argued here that The Cantos is structured on the model of a initiation rather than a journey, and that the poem does not so much describe an initiation rite as enact one for the reader. In exploring and attempting to understand Pounds' occultism and its implications to his [Pounds'] oeuvre, Tryphonopoulos sheds new light upon one of the great works of modern Western literature.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos teaches American literature at the University of New Brunswick. His current projects include an edition of Ezra Poundās letters to Olivia Rossetti Agresti as well as a collection of essays on modernism and the occult.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for The Celestial Tradition: A Study of Ezra Poundās The...
Stock Image
The Celestial Tradition: A Study of Ezra PoundĆ¢ (Tm)S the Cantos
Published by
Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1992
ISBN 10: 0889202028
ISBN 13: 9780889202023
Used
Hardcover
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0889202028I3N00
Stock Image
The Celestial Tradition: A Study of Ezra Pound's "the Cantos"
Published by
Wilfrid Laurier Univ Pr, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 1992
ISBN 10: 0889202028
ISBN 13: 9780889202023
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Russian Hill Bookstore, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 214 pages, 8vo, includes index and references, some very light shelfwear and creasing to the dj, otherwise a very clean, tight copy. Seller Inventory # 33231
Seller Image
THE CELESTIAL TRADITION: A STUDY OF EZRA POUND'S THE CANTOS
Published by
Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Canada, 1992
ISBN 10: 0889202028
ISBN 13: 9780889202023
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Atlanta Vintage Books, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Beautiful black cloth over boards with gilt particulars and publisher's emblem to spine. Pages are clean and unmarked. Foxing to top edge, but text block is otherwise clean and unmarked. Boards are clean and bright with light rubbing to corners and ends of spine. Dust jacket is clean, bright and unmarked with light creasing to ends of spine. Seller Inventory # 64848