Mr. Housman’s Message poem by Ezra Pound line by line explanation in urdu and hindi

Mr. Housman’s MessaEzra Pound 1885–1972

Ezra Pound's Biography

Publication , Structure, Meter and style of the poem

Background of the poem, Why Pound Wrote this poem?

Summary of the poem

Text of the poem, Critical Appreciation

Different Interpretations of the poem

Themes in the poem

Symbols and Literary Devices used in the poem

In

Urdu and H

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Ezra Weston Loomis Pound regarded as one of the most important pthe 20th century and a leading voice of modernism. Pound foundedImagist movement, which promoted clarity, precision, and economylanguage in poetry. Although American by birth, he spent most of hEurope.

Born: October 30, 1885, in Hailey, United States.

Died: November 1, 1972, in Venice, Italy.

The poem “Mr. Housman’s Message” was first published under the“Song in the Manner of Housman” in Ezra Pound’s collection Canzo(1911). Later in the American edition of Lustra (1917), it appeared the title “Housman’s Message to Mankind”. The poem is recognizeparody of A. E. Housman.

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Meter, Rhyme and Style

Irregular meter closer to free verse, loose or absent rhyme, and a modernparodic style (a copy of A. E. Housman’s style).

Background of the poem

A.E. Housman (1859–1936): Famous English poet, best known for A ShLad. His poems are full of sadness about death, youth lost, and the beautcountryside. Pound wrote this as a parody (a funny imitation) of Housmacopies Housman’s gloomy tone but exaggerates it until it sounds silly.

Why Pound Wrote It?

He admired Housman’s talent but thought his poems were too gloomy anrepetitive. Modernist poets like Pound wanted new, sharper poetry, not

old-fashioned sentimental verse. This poem is both a joke and a critique:what happens when sadness becomes a formula.

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Summary of the poem

Ezra Pound’s “Mr. Housman’s Message” is a parody of A. E. Housmanstyle. It shows that life is short and ends in death, using images like a birhawthorn tree and young men who die violently. Pound contrasts Londonsadness with Shropshire’s countryside, but even nature there carries “mograce.” By repeating “woe, woe, etc.,” he mocks Housman’s constant meimitating his themes while also criticizing their exaggerated sorrow.

Imagism in the poem

Imagism was a literary movement in early 20th-century poetry, led by Ezand poets like H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) and Richard Aldington. It aimed to away from long, vague, and decorative Victorian poetry by focusing on cprecision, and strong images.

Main principles of Imagism:

1. Present the thing directly — no unnecessary explanation.

2. Use as few words as possible — economy of language.

3. Write in free verse, guided by rhythm of thought, not strict meter.

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Text of the Poem Line By Line Explanation

Stanza: 01

O woe, woe,

People are born and die,

We also shall be dead pretty soon

Therefore let us act as if we were

dead already.

The first stanza of “Mr. Housman’s Message” seof the poem by beginning with the words “O wogrief that immediately creates a heavy, sorrowfuPound is deliberately copying the mournful styleHousman, who often began his poems with a tonresignation. By repeating the word “woe,” Poundsound exaggerated, almost like a chant, which hiThe next line, “People are born and die,” is a blutruth. It reduces the entire human experience to alife and death, without any sense of joy, hope, orbetween. The following line, “We also shall be dbrings this idea closer to the reader, reminding ujust a general fact but a personal reality that awastanza ends with the line, “Therefore let us act asalready,” which carries a sharp irony. It suggestsnear and unavoidable, we should stop living fullybehave as though our lives are already over. Thisconclusion is Pound’s way of poking fun at Houtone, as if his constant focus on mortality leaves joy, or human action. Shortness of life.

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Text of the Poem Line By Line Explanation

Stanza: 02

The bird sits on the hawthorn tree

But he dies also, presently.

Some lads get hung, and some get shot.

Woeful is this human lot.

Woe! woe, etcetera. . . .

In the second stanza of “Mr. Housman’s Messagcontinues to parody Housman’s melancholic styla pastoral image, “The bird sits on the hawthorn Housman’s fondness for nature as a symbol of bYet, this promise of life is immediately undermindies also, presently,” which reduces the bird to amortality. In this way, Pound highlights Housmaconnect even the loveliest natural scenes with deThe focus then shifts to human life: “Some lads get shot.” Here Pound exaggerates Housman’s gyouthful death, presenting it in blunt, violent terminevitability of suffering. “Woeful is this human theme, while the refrain, “Woe! woe, etcetera…”despair and absurdity. The repetition suggests enaddition of “etcetera” makes the sorrow sound foalmost meaningless.

Repetitiveness mocks the excessive gloominesHousman’s poetry.

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Text of the Poem Line By Line Explanation

Stanza: 03

London is a woeful place,

Shropshire is much pleasanter.

Then let us smile a little space

Upon fond nature’s morbid grace.

Oh, Woe, woe, woe, etcetera. . . .

In the third stanza, Pound compares the gloom ocharm of the countryside. He writes, “London isShropshire is much pleasanter,” echoing Housmacontrast between urban misery and rural simplicrepresents a lifeless, crowded existence, while Shsymbolizes beauty and peace. However, the poemthis countryside happiness to last. Pound remindbeauty is also bound to death, calling it “fond nagrace.” This phrase suggests that even flowers, trlandscapes, while lovely, are touched by decay aadvice to “smile a little space” points to the fleetjoy—we can enjoy life briefly, but the shadow ofollows. The stanza ends with the exaggerated rewoe, woe, etcetera. . . .” Pound uses this repetitio“etcetera,” to mock how predictable and mechansadness becomes, as though sorrow has turned inNature may seem more hopeful than the city.

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Different Interpretations of the poem

•One way is to see it as primarily a criticism of a kind of sentimentits formulaic grief and its tendency to dwell in decline and loss fosake.

•Another is to see it as also a reflection on how to face mortality: wrespond with despair or with awareness and small beauty.

•It can also be read in relation to nature poetry and pastoral traditiowe tend to imagine nature as a comfort, but nature does not exempfrom decay.

•Given that Pound was deeply involved in modernist movements, see this poem as part of his experimenting: using satire, irony, parto move away from Victorian / late-19th-century sensibilities.

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Themes in the poem

Mortality / Transience

Nature as mirror

Human suffering

Parodic tone / Irony

Symbols in the Poem

Bird on the hawthorn tree: symbol of nature and life, but also of death since it Shows that nothing escapes mortality.

London vs. Shropshire: London represents modern life (gloomy, crowded, lifeShropshire represents the countryside (simpler, beautiful). Still, even nature inis tied to death.

Hanging and shooting of lads: represents harsh realities of human suffering an“Woe, woe, etc.”: symbolizes how Housman’s sadness has become formulaic omechanical, almost like a repeated refrain in his poems.

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Literary Devices

Parody: the whole poem imitates Housman’s style in a humorous,

exaggerated way.

Irony: while the tone seems sad, the exaggeration (“woe, woe, etc.”)it funny and critical.

Repetition: “woe, woe” is repeated to mimic Housman’s constant saContrast: London vs. Shropshire (city vs. countryside), life vs. deathImagery: pictures of birds, trees, young men, and rural landscapes crvivid scenes.

Tone: mock-serious, both sad and playful at the same time.

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