Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Les Millwins" by Ezra Pound offers a vignette of contrasts between two distinct groups attending a Russian Ballet: the Millwins, a family presumably of some social standing, and the "turbulent and undisciplined host of art students" from "Slade," an art school in London. The poem presents the theatre as a microcosm of cultural and social differences, with the ballet performance of Cleopatra serving as the focal point that brings these disparate elements together.

The Millwins are described through a curious blend of color and inertia: "The mauve and greenish souls of the little Millwins / Were seen lying along the upper seats / Like so many unused boas." The comparison of their souls to "unused boas" evokes a sense of superficiality and decorative uselessness. Their "large and anaemic eyes" further this impression, suggesting a passive engagement with the cultural event they are attending.

In contrast, the art students are described as "turbulent and undisciplined," individuals whose appreciation for the arts is visceral and active. They engage physically with the performance, with "arms exalted, with fore-arms / Crossed in great futuristic X's." This physicality is in direct opposition to the apathy exhibited by the Millwins, and it represents a different approach to consuming art-one that is not only about seeing but also about feeling, experiencing, and interpreting.

The poem makes a point to mention that "the little Millwins beheld these things," but it does not elaborate on any transformative impact the experience has on them. Instead, the Millwins appear as bystanders, passive observers who look "out upon this configuration" but do not internalize or interact with it. The mention of their "anaemic eyes" adds a medical undertone to their apathy, as if they are lacking in some vital nutrient necessary for a fuller understanding and engagement with art and culture.

Pound's poem subtly criticizes the social elite represented by the Millwins, who engage with high culture in a manner that appears hollow and disengaged. Their attendance at the ballet serves as a kind of social or cultural capital, but it is empty of the experiential and emotional investment that the art students display. The art students, who come from an institution known for its rigorous training, represent a more genuine, lively form of cultural engagement-one that is both intellectual and emotional.

The last lines, "Let us therefore mention the fact, / For it seems to us worthy of record," serves as a sarcastic commentary on the superficial nature of the Millwins' experience. It implies that while their attendance might be "worthy of record" in some social or cultural ledger, it lacks genuine emotional or intellectual substance. The statement is almost an ironic nod to the idea that recording such an event contributes to the cultural history of the elite, even though the very act of mentioning it highlights its vacuousness.

In "Les Millwins," Ezra Pound captures the tension between different modes of cultural engagement. It exposes the rift between genuine appreciation and superficial participation, all within the confines of a theatre where both the elevated and the mundane aspects of culture are displayed. It serves as an exploration of cultural consumption and the varying degrees of depth with which art can be experienced.

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