Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Ezra Pound's "Surgit Fama," the poem's atmosphere is charged with mythological figures, invoking a sense of grandeur, mystery, and depth. The poem opens with the notion that "There is a truce among the gods," establishing immediately a setting beyond the mortal coil, where divine beings mediate the cycles of life and existence. This truce points to a pause or restoration, a momentary equilibrium in the eternal play of cosmic forces.

The reappearance of Kore in the North "skirting the blue-gray sea" symbolizes a return of fertility and life. Kore, another name for Persephone, is the goddess of the harvest whose disappearance and return mark the changing seasons. The "gilded and russet mantle" she wears mirrors the colors of harvest and the richness of earth, underlining her role as the life-giver. "The corn has again its mother," signifies the cyclical nature of life, birth, and renewal. Leuconoe, presumably another divine figure or perhaps a metaphor for earth, "that failed never women," is portrayed as a reliably nurturing entity.

Yet, within this idyllic vision, a contrasting figure emerges-Hermes, the trickster god. Hermes exists as the agent of change, always "eager to catch my words, eager to spread them with rumour." His presence injects an element of unpredictability and chaos into an otherwise harmonious scene. The words and the tales they weave are susceptible to alteration, distortion, and reinvention at Hermes's hand. This duality hints at the inherent tension between stability and change, between enduring truth and mutable interpretation.

But the poem ends with an invocation for truth, "But do thou speak true, even to the letter." This call for truthfulness acts as a counterpoint to Hermes' subterfuge, emphasizing the importance of keeping the original, sacred stories intact. The "never abandoned gardens" filled with "gossip and old tales" suggest the perpetuity of storytelling and the role it plays in linking the past, present, and future.

The title "Surgit Fama" translates roughly to "Fame Arises" from Latin, and this perhaps acts as an invitation to consider the enduring impact of stories, how they rise through the mediation of figures like Hermes but also ground us, much like Kore and her cyclical return.

Overall, "Surgit Fama" is a layered meditation on the power of stories, myths, and their roles in human life. The poem acknowledges both the stability and fluidity of stories - they are both eternal like Kore and subject to change like the tricks of Hermes. In doing so, Pound captures the delicate balance that exists in the tales that endure, those that form the rich tapestry of collective consciousness.

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