Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

The poem "After the Release of Ezra Pound" by Dannie Abse delves into the controversial legacy of Ezra Pound, one of the most seminal figures in 20th-century poetry. Pound was arrested for treason against the United States because of his pro-Fascist broadcasts during World War II, and his anti-Semitic views were a matter of public record. Abse's poem presents a scene in Soho, a place described as a "square mile of unoriginal sin," where various people discuss Pound's legacy following his release from confinement.

Abse crafts an atmosphere tinged with moral ambiguity, encapsulating the various shades of the public opinion on Pound. Soho's setting, full of "fraudulent neon lights," "jeans and sweater boys," "virgins of St. Martin's School of Art," and "corner spivs," serves as a microcosm of a society that is morally complex and conflicted. The characters who populate the poem are presented as morally ambiguous or flawed, mirroring the complex ethical considerations surrounding Pound's legacy.

The poem critically highlights that Pound's artistic greatness does not excuse him from moral accountability: "Because of the structures of a beautiful poet / you ask the man who is less than beautiful." Abse seems to be cautioning against separating art from the moral character of the artist, a debate that still resonates today.

Towards the end of the poem, Abse invokes other seminal figures like Walt Whitman and Thomas Jefferson, stating that if the "ticking distance between" life and death "was merely a journey long enough / to walk the circumference of a Belsen," then these figures would have been morally unambiguous. Belsen, a reference to Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp, serves as a haunting reminder of the horrors that ideologies like the one Pound supported can unleash on humanity.

The poem ends on a note of urgency, suggesting that life is too short to condone or make excuses for moral failings, no matter how artistically talented the individual. It's a compelling argument for ethical accountability, arguing that a person's artistic contributions don't exempt them from moral scrutiny. "He, not I, must answer," Abse concludes, casting the onus of moral responsibility squarely onto Pound.

Overall, Dannie Abse's poem acts as an ethical inquiry into the relationship between art and morality, encapsulated through the divisive figure of Ezra Pound. It challenges the reader to confront complex questions about how society should deal with the legacy of individuals whose contributions to art are as monumental as their ethical shortcomings.

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