Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Speech for Psyche in the Golden Book of Apuleius," Ezra Pound explores the transcendent experience of love through the lens of the mythological character Psyche. In the original myth, Psyche is a mortal woman so beautiful that she incurs the wrath of Venus. Ultimately, she falls in love with Venus's son, Cupid. Pound's poem captures a particular moment in their relationship, presumably one of the secret nights Cupid spends with Psyche, though his identity is hidden from her.

The poem opens with the phrase "All night, and as the wind lieth among/The cypress trees, he lay," immediately evoking a mood of quietude and intimacy. The comparison between the lover and the wind lying among cypress trees serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it brings in a natural element, underscoring the idea that their love is as fundamental and elemental as the wind. Secondly, it suggests a certain ethereality; the wind doesn't "lie" in the way a solid object would-it's there but also not there, which is much like the mysterious presence of her lover.

Pound extends this ethereal quality further in lines such as "Nor held me save as air that brusheth by one/Close, and as the petals of flowers in falling." The lover's touch is gentle, almost intangible. He isn't just holding her; he is enveloping her like air, like petals that drift by as they fall. This captures the ineffable nature of love, which often defies concrete description.

The phrase "Waver and seem not drawn to earth, so he/Seemed over me to hover light as leaves" deepens the ethereal, almost divine image of the lover. Just as the petals seem not to be "drawn to earth," the lover hovers above Psyche, implying that their love defies earthly limitations. This sense of weightlessness contrasts beautifully with the physical and emotional "weight" of love, emphasized in the line "O winds, what wind can match the weight of him!"

The "music flowing through me seemed to open/Mine eyes upon new colours" illustrates another transformative aspect of love. In love, especially one so profound and mysterious, the world itself can appear altered-more vibrant, filled with "new colours." Music is often described as a universal language that transcends words, and here it serves as a metaphor for the indescribable but deeply felt experience of love.

Set against the backdrop of a timeless myth, Pound's poem becomes a lens through which we can examine the broader human experience of love-its ethereal quality, its transformative power, and its weighty significance. Through his meticulous crafting of imagery and metaphor, Pound allows the reader to feel, if only for a moment, the transcendent love that Psyche herself experiences. Thus, the poem serves as a vivid exploration of love's ineffable qualities, inviting readers to ponder its complexities and contradictions.

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