American Canons: October 6; Poem Anylsis and Perloff essay

The poems in this assignment are written using the Imagist style.

What is Imagist? Imagist is a subset of the Modernist tradition. imagism  was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. Modernist poets changed the style and content of poetry by abandoning rhyme and meter, among other things. But some of the Modernist poets decided that the best way to write poetry was (Imagism) to describe things with simple and few words. In addition, many of them did not explicitly discuss the ideas and themes of the poem. The Imagist movement in modern poetry focused on describing objects as opposed to the long philosophical discussions of traditional poetry. The Imagist Movement drew from a variety of poetic traditions—Greek, Provencal, Japanese and Chinese poetry. 

Imagism is a type of poetry that describes images with simple language and great focus. It came out of the Modernist movement in poetry. In the early 1900s, poets abandoned the old ways of writing poems and created a new movement in poetry called Modernism. Modernist poets changed the style and content of poetry by abandoning rhyme and meter, among other things.
Some Modernist poets began to focus on imagery in poetry. In traditional poetry, images are described in great detail with many words, and then they are linked to a philosophical idea or theme. But some of the Modernist poets decided that the best way to write poetry was to describe things with simple and few words. In addition, many of them did not explicitly discuss the ideas and themes of the poem. Imagism is a subset of Modernism that focuses on simply described images and little more. In Imagist poetry, the writer does not talk about the themes behind the image; they let the image itself be the focus of the poem. Imagist forms do not take the traditional style and traditional boundaries in writing. Imagist us uses simple language and clarity. Imagism is a subset of Modernism that focuses on simply described images and little more. In Imagist poetry, the writer does not talk about the themes behind the image; they let the image itself be the focus of the poem. Imagism uses free verse: Free verse is an open form of poetry. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech.  Although free verse requires no meter, rhyme, or other traditional poetic techniques, a poet can still use them to create some sense of structure.  Because of a lack of predetermined form, free verse poems have the potential to take truly unique shapes. Imagism is unrestrained by traditional boundaries.

The Imagist rejects Romanticism & Victorian styles of poetry.

According to Amy Lowell, one of the founders of the Imagist movement in poetry in the early years of this century, imagist poems should observe seven rules:
1. Use language of common speech
2. Avoid clichés
3. Create new rhythms to express new moods
4. Absolute freedom of subject
5. Create concrete, firm images
6. Strive for concentration as essence of poetry
7. Suggest rather than state

Imagism is a subset of Modernism that focuses on simply described images and little more. In Imagist poetry, the writer does not talk about the themes behind the image; they let the image itself be the focus of the poem.
If you want to read more about imagism: http://poetry.about.com/od/poeticschools/a/Imagism.htm