Ezra Pound

The White Stag

The White Stag - meaning Summary

Hunting Fame as White Stag

Pound presents a brief, striking image of a hunt for the white stag as a metaphor for fame. The poem contrasts the hunters' relentless chase with the stag's aloofness and the dawn landscape. The animal's eyes are compared to a maid's, suggesting beauty and desire that do not yield to human longing. The closing cry summons the world to join a pursuit that is both communal and ultimately elusive.

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I ha' seen them 'mid the clouds on the heather. Lo! they pause not for love nor for sorrow, Yet their eyes are as the eyes of a maid to her lover, When the white hart breaks his cover And the white wind breaks the morn. ‘'Tis the white stag, Fame, we're a-hunting, Bid the world's hounds come to horn!’

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