Pound’s third volume – his first commercially successful one – was published by Elkin Matthews, the proprietor of a prominent London bookshop just off Piccadilly Circus. It should not be confused with a 1926 book of the same name, which gathers most of Pound’s poetry outside his
Cantos. Both volumes are in effect collections, although the 1909
Personaeincludes seventeen poems published for the first time. These represent a key phase in Pound’s poetic development, and are the subject of this entry.
The concept of the “persona” (or its plural, “personae”) occupies a central position in Pound’s poetic process. It translates into English as “mask” but Pound’s fidelity to the Latin reflects a particular literary parentage, namely that of Robert Browning. Browning’s
1052 words
Citation: Elek, Jon. "Personae". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2841, accessed 24 November 2024.]
