How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
His true Penelope was Flaubert (13)
In this early line, Pound compares Mauberley to Homer's Odysseus searching for home. But instead of having a loyal wife wait for him, Pound says that Mauberley's true companion was the French novelist Flaubert, whose work Pound holds up as a shining example of great literature.
Quote #2
he had been born
In a half savage country, out of date (5-6)
Pound's making a dig at his home country, the good ol' U.S. of A., and says that compared to the civilizations of classical Europe, America is "half savage." Pound wasn't a fan of how money-driven American culture was, and he felt that America's art tended to suffer as a consequence of its obsession with moolah.
Quote #3
The age demanded an image
Of its accelerated grimace,
Something for the modern stage,
Not, at any rate, an Attic grace (21-24)
When Mauberley was trying to bring poetry back to relevance, he was looking for something beautiful. But it turns out that modern art is looking for something ugly to reflect the ugliness of the modern world. Too bad for Huey.