Hugh Selwyn Mauberley Respect and Reputation Quotes

Pound isn't a big fan of someone like William Gladstone, former prime minister of England. Gladstone is pretty much the ultimate symbol of your crusty, respectable British-type, and Pound sees him as a symbol of what's wrong with modern writers. Everyone seems so concerned about what others think of them. But for Pound, people need to get over themselves.

Robert Buchanan was a dude who didn't like poems about prostitutes or paintings with nudity in them. But Pound is all like: "Pssshtt… Come on man. Don't be such a sourpuss." It's kind of funny for Pound to say this, since he also accuses America of not being respectable enough for his liking. It seems like he's looking for something between American rudeness and British politeness.

When it came time for young men to enlist for World War I, many of them actually signed up for the army because they were worried about the "censure" of their neighbors. In other words, they were worried that people would call them weak or irresponsible if they didn't sign up. So tens of millions of people ended up getting killed because they were worried about their reputations. Was the trade-off worth it? Pound doesn't seem to think so.

Pound thinks it's pretty brutal that the man named Mr. Verog doesn't get any respect from the younger generation. Mr. Verog knows a ton about the history of European art, and he's even got a few pub stories to prove it. But at the end of the day, Mr. Verog is a dreamer who likes to think of big ideas like the meaning of life and beauty. And modern folks don't seem to have much time for that sort of thing.

Pound can't stand people who are "stiff" in terms of their morality of public image. But what he can't stand even more is when the whole world seems to love these people for being so witty. For Pound, you can only have beauty and grace when you relax and let people see your passion. Unfortunately, the modern world seems to love people who come across as cool or indifferent all the time. After all, look at how much people love Jay-Z or Beyonce.