Ezra Pound and His Classical Sources: The Cantos and the Primal Matter of Troy [Paperback]

This book uses Ezra Pound'sThe Cantosas a lens to understand modernism's ambition to revolutionize literature through mythical and scientific methods. Homer'sOdysseyplays a unique methodological and structural role inThe Cantos.The Cantostranslates, interprets, abridges, adapts, critiques, parodies, trivializes, allegorizes, and ritualizes theOdyssey. Partly inspired by Joyce's use of different literary styles or technics inUlysses, and partly inspired by medieval classicism and 19th century philology, Pound uses a plethora of methods to translate Homer and other classical texts. This book argues thatThe Cantosis a modernist vision of the Matter of Troy, a term used by medieval authors to designate the cycle of texts based on the Trojan war and its aftereffects, including the nostoi (returns) of the Greek heroes.

This is the first study to explore how medieval classicism and translation informs Pound's mythical method and to systematically outline the variety and evolution of Pound'sOdysseytranslations inThe Cantos.

Elegantly written and meticulously researched ... deserves praise for making the philological discussions in this study accessible to an interdisciplinary readership Translation and Literature

The chapters devoted to the Pisan and post-Pisan Cantos, where Ullyot's close readings are at their best, offer a new and relevant contribution to Poundian scholarship. English Studies

Introduction:The Cantosand the Matter of Troy
Chapter One:The Spirit of Romanceand the Debt to Philology
Chapter Two: Odysseus Among the Dead: Primitive Homer
Chapter Three: Protean Homer
Chapter Four: The Lotophagoi: Confusion and Renewal
Chapter Five: Erotic Circe
Chapter Six: Pisan Wreck
Chapter SevelS‰