The Cantos Themes

The Cantos Themes

The Cantos is one of the most difficult and erudite of the epic poems. Attempting to rewrite Dante's journey from hell to paradise, Pound chooses the form of a fugue in which to write his poem. The work is suffused with history, myth, crosscultural allusions, striking images, pedantry, and a deep love for humanity. However, the poem also expresses many opinions that are almost medieval in their ignorance and hatefulness. Pound's poem makes us confront questions of whether truly great art can express abhorrent viewpoints.

The Palimpsest

A palimpsest, most simply, is a piece of paper or parchment that has been written on a number of times and on which the earlier writing has been only partially effaced. But the term also designates a building that incorporates an earlier building, especially one from a previous historical period. The image of the palimpsest is both a structural principle for The Cantos...
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