Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Coitus" by Ezra Pound offers an intriguing exploration of natural cycles, eroticism, and the intertwining of life and art. Through vivid imagery and mythological references, Pound delves into the themes of rebirth, sexual potency, and the contrast between the eternal and the ephemeral.

The poem begins with the image of "gilded phaloi of the crocuses / are thrusting at the spring air," immediately plunging the reader into a world where nature is overtly sexualized. The crocuses, a common symbol of rebirth and spring, are anthropomorphized here; their phallic-shaped buds are "thrusting at the spring air," signifying both the potency of nature and the vitality of spring. This act of thrusting captures the primal urge to procreate, to renew life, a universal force driving not just humans but nature as well.

"Here is there naught of dead gods / But a procession of festival," the poem continues, eliminating the weight of deceased divinities or old beliefs. Pound is pointing out that the spectacle unfolding is one of celebration and vitality, devoid of the melancholy that often accompanies the relics of bygone eras. The focus is on the now, the vivacity and the ebullience of life's most fundamental cycles.

The invocation of "O Giulio Romano," an Italian painter and architect of the Renaissance, introduces another layer to the poem, weaving in the realm of human creation-art-as a parallel to nature's creative power. Pound seems to suggest that just as the crocuses are a natural expression of life's vigor, so is art a human endeavor that seeks to capture or echo that same vital essence. Romano is called upon as if his spirit could or should dwell in this vivid procession of life, which implies that art and nature are interconnected in their celebration of life's energies.

"Dione, your nights are upon us," evokes the mythological realm, calling upon the ancient Greek goddess often associated with fertility and the oracle of Dodona. This invocation imbues the scene with a sense of sacred eroticism, linking back to the divine aspects of sexuality and creation. It brings forth the idea that the forces at play are not just natural but also divine, eternally recurring yet ever-changing.

The final lines, "The dew is upon the leaf. / The night about us is restless," serve to encapsulate the entire poem's essence-perpetual movement, constant change, and yet a stillness in individual moments. The "dew upon the leaf" is a transient phenomenon, and the restless night implies an ever-changing world. Yet, within this milieu, each individual moment-like the dew on a leaf-becomes a snapshot of life, an expression of eternal energies.

Pound manages to blend natural imagery, artistic homage, and mythological allusions to create a tapestry that captures the pulse of life itself. In doing so, he offers a complex yet strikingly clear vision of the interconnectedness of natural and creative energies. The poem serves as a reminder that life, in all its various forms, is a continual dance of creation and change, one that art strives to capture even as it slips through our fingers like the morning dew.

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