In a Station of the Metro

“[the cry of the cicada]“ by Matsuo Basho (1690)

“The cry of the cicada,” coming to Western audiences from the Japanese tradition, matches “In a Station of the Metro” in description and brevity. Matsuo Basho, who gained recognition for his use of the haiku form, composed the poem. The poem’s brief form reflects not only the brevity of life, but also the swiftness of experience. The poem relies on natural imagery like cicadas as a representation of humanity. The speaker implies that the cicadas’ cry is futile as a warning against the end of the world. Like “In a Station of the Metro,” the poem relies on brevity to reinforce its message. The poem also consists of only 14 words, and in the English translation, most of the words are articles like “the,” prepositions like “of” and “like,” and non-specific pronouns like “that” and “it.” The poem only becomes human and personal because of the pronoun “us,” much like Pound’s poem, which only becomes human because of the “faces” (Line 1).

“Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost (1920)

Ezra Pound and Robert Frost were not good acquaintances. Their poetry, however, bears many similarities. “Fire and Ice” is a brief poem.