Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"To Kalon," by Ezra Pound, serves as a short yet profoundly evocative lament, invoking the elusive nature of ideal beauty or goodness, represented by the Greek concept of "Kalón." Consisting of only two lines, the poem's brevity paradoxically amplifies its emotional and thematic weight, drawing the reader into a tapestry of desires, illusions, and existential queries.

The phrase "Even in my dreams" opens the poem with a tone of wistful melancholy. Dreams usually serve as spaces for the fulfillment of our most recondite desires, places where boundaries fade and wishes materialize. However, in this dreamscape, the poet still cannot attain the object of his desire. One could argue that the "you" here is a stand-in for ideal beauty or perfection, something eternally sought after but never fully realized, not even in the most intimate recesses of the mind.

The phrase "you have denied yourself to me" imbues the poem with an existential sadness. The object of desire is anthropomorphized, given agency, as if it consciously chooses to elude the speaker. This choice of words creates a poignant tension between the seeker and the sought. It's almost as if the thing the poet yearns for takes on a life of its own and makes a deliberate choice to remain distant. This creates a haunting impression of unattainable desire, amplifying the feeling of loss and emptiness.

Yet, this entity does not leave the poet completely destitute. It "sent me only your handmaids," a statement brimming with both consolation and further torment. If "Kalón" here represents ideal beauty or goodness, the handmaids could signify the more accessible, tangible forms of beauty or goodness that one might experience in life. These are the fleeting moments or aspects that come close to what is earnestly sought, but are not the Ideal itself. While they offer some solace, their presence serves as a constant reminder of the unreachability of the ultimate object of desire.

Pound's diction is precise and each word is pregnant with implication. The poem serves as an existential rumination on the constant human quest for an ideal - whether it be love, beauty, morality, or a synthesis of these - that seems forever elusive. With "To Kalon," Pound encapsulates a universal human experience: the ceaseless pursuit of an often unattainable ideal, and the blend of sorrow and inspiration that comes with it. He provokes the reader to question the nature of their own desires, their own dreams, and the handmaids that they, perhaps, have been sent.

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