Epitaphs

Epitaphs - context Summary

From Personae

Ezra Pound's brief poem presents two curt epitaphs that name historical or literary figures (Fu and Li Po) and compress their lives into stark, ironic last lines. The first pairs pastoral love with death by alcohol; the second evokes Li Po’s legendary drunken attempt to "embrace a moon" in the Yellow River. The poem relies on juxtaposition and cultural reference to suggest mythic decline in a few spare images.