How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
There died a myriad,
And of the best, among them,
For an old b**** gone in the teeth,
For a botched civilization (86-89)
So a bunch of young Englishmen went off to World War I so they could defend their great country. The only problem is that they weren't fighting for such a great nation. According to Pound, they were fighting for a "botched civilization," since Pound believed that Britain was getting barbaric and stupid in modern times. It's no surprised that he pulled up stakes and moved out of England shortly after writing this poem.
Quote #5
Still, at the Tate, they teach
Cophetua to rhapsodize (104-105)
The painting of King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid is really beautiful to Pound. But he's pretty disappointed that nearly a hundred years have gone by, and London's Tate gallery still can't find something beautiful from more recent times. It's not totally clear if this is a problem with the gallery's selection policies, or modern art. But it's probably both.
Quote #6
And no one knows, at sight a masterpiece (163)
This is definitely one of the more bitter things you'll see from Pound in this poem. Here, he's basically saying that most modern folks think art is totally subjective, and that no one knows what's good or not at first sight. People only decide what's good after a large group of people have gotten together and decided.