IMAGERY, SYMBOLISM, AND VISION IN THE WORKS OF T.S. ELIOT AND EZRA POUND

This paper explores the intricate roles of imagery, symbolism, and vision in the works of T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, two central figures of Anglo-American Modernism. Both poets redefined twentieth-century poetics by reshaping traditional forms into experimental modes of expression that foregrounded fragmentation, intertextuality, and imagist precision. Through a comparative textual analysis of Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922) and Pound’s Cantos (1915–1962), this study investigates how visual and symbolic structures embody the modernist search for order in the face of cultural disintegration. Eliot’s imagery often reflects spiritual desolation, historical cycles, and mythic archetypes, while Pound’s symbolism draws from classical, Asian, and economic references, conveying a global and historical vision. The findings reveal that both poets employed imagery and symbolism not only as aesthetic devices but also as intellectual strategies to reconstruct meaning within a fragmented modern world. Ultimately, this research demonstrates that Eliot and Pound share a visionary impulse to transcend mere description: they transform imagery into symbolic structures that articulate cultural critique, spiritual inquiry, and aesthetic renewal.