Ezra Pound‟s Cantos. Why so meta?

Abstract

If the general acceptance of meta- (μετά-) is something beyond or about something else, with Ezra Pound, it tends to be something about everything. Within an epistemological vortex of references, from American politics to medieval France, we, the readers, are given critical suggestions, reconsiderations and a considerable amount of work to do about and beyond the meaning of the words on the page. The Cantos are a brilliantly assembled register of cultural signifiers. Merging in a context of dynamism, they signify beyond the primary connections to factual data. Myths, metaphors or metamorphoses become decontextualized representations, models and vehicles for a higher, more abstract or more complex vision of the whole. Pound is constantly using and manipulating meaning for a higher goal. This does not guarantee a full understanding of the characteristics of the signifiers, nor is it intended to. Therefore, the current paper focuses on the ways of and the reasons for writing
about and beyond cultural elements.