Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Ezra Pound's "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter," the poem unfolds as an epistolary narrative, exploring the emotional and psychological maturation of a young wife distanced from her husband due to his work. This work presents an intimate view into not only her emotional state but also the socio-cultural nuances of her time and place, possibly ancient China.

The poem opens with a vivid, almost innocent image of the speaker as a young girl, playing with flowers "about the front gate." Her future husband is introduced equally innocently, "playing horse" on bamboo stilts. This beginning captures the simplicity of childhood, untouched by the complexities of adult relationships and responsibilities. They were "two small people, without dislike or suspicion," hinting at an uncomplicated world that the two originally inhabited.

The speaker's tone shifts as she recounts marrying at fourteen. Her description is curt and subdued: "I never laughed, being bashful." The bashfulness and one-sidedness of the early days of her marriage are palpable. She lowered her head and looked at the wall when called, embodying the submissive role expected of young brides in many traditional societies.

It is at fifteen, however, that the speaker's emotional landscape starts to expand. She confesses, "I desired my dust to be mingled with yours / Forever and forever and forever." This sentiment signifies a deepening of emotional intimacy, marking her transition from a young girl into a woman conscious of her own desires and feelings. The earlier reluctance is replaced by a longing for emotional and existential unity.

Despite this newfound depth of feeling, separation ensues. The husband departs for "far Ku-to-yen, by the river of swirling eddies," and has been gone for five months. Nature mirrors her emotions: "The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead," "the leaves fall early this autumn, in wind," and "the paired butterflies are already yellow with August." The imageries encapsulate her loneliness and advancing age in her husband's absence; nature itself becomes a participant in her solitude.

The concluding part of the poem shows a significant emotional maturity and sense of agency on her part. She expresses her intent to meet her husband if he returns, an act of initiative and personal desire: "Please let me know beforehand, / And I will come out to meet you / As far as Cho-fu-Sa." This is a far cry from the girl who looked at the wall when called upon, symbolizing her personal and emotional growth.

"The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter" masterfully explores themes of love, maturation, and emotional complexity within the framework of a societal structure. The changing seasons and elements of nature serve as eloquent metaphors for the emotional seasons of the speaker's life, and the distance between her and her husband acts as both a physical and emotional measuring stick for her evolving self-awareness. Through this, Pound brings to life the universal human experience of love, longing, and the bittersweet nuances of growing up.

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