About Imagism
Generally speaking, imagism is a type of writing based on the direct presentation of significant objects, rather than on abstract discussion and rhetoric. The most purely imagistic form of poetry is the Japanese haiku.
More specifically, Imagism (often with the capital 'I') refers to a drive to restore this quality to English-language poetry which took place in the 1910s. Poets associated with Imagism included Richard Aldington, H.D., John Gould Fletcher, F.S. Flint, Amy Lowell, Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams. Imagist poems were typically short, precise and concrete. They were publicised in avant-garde 'little magazines' and via four anthologies that appeared annually from 1914 to 1917.
Imagism is considered to have been the first significant movement in English literary modernism. It played a key role in questioning the late-Victorian conventions of poetry and in getting free verse accepted as a legitimate form.
Poetry
A selection of poems associated with the Imagist movement. Limited to those authors who are (to the best of my knowledge) no longer under copyright under UK law.
- Aubade, by Amy Lowell
- Autumn, by T.E. Hulme
- A Bather, by Amy Lowell
- Bright Sunlight, by Amy Lowell
- Brooding Grief, by D.H. Lawrence
- A Decade, by Amy Lowell
- Frosty Evening, by Amy Lowell
- Green, by D.H. Lawrence
- Illicit, by D.H. Lawrence
- Opal, by Amy Lowell
- Patterns, by Amy Lowell
- The Pond, by Amy Lowell
- September 1918, by Amy Lowell
- Summer Rain, by Amy Lowell
- The Weathervane Points South, by Amy Lowell
Links
- Imagists.org
The most authoritative Web resource on Richard Aldington and H.D., together with links to resources on other poets. - Some Imagist Poets: 1915
E-text of the second Imagist anthology. Contains poems by Richard Aldington, H.D., John Gould Fletcher, F.S. Flint, D.H. Lawrence and Amy Lowell, plus an explanatory preface.