imagistisch

Imagism, in Dutch scholarship often rendered as imagisme or imagistische poëzie, refers to a short-lived but influential early 20th-century movement in poetry that emphasized image-based composition. It arose around 1912–1914 in London and New York and is associated with a group centered on Ezra Pound, with key figures including H. D. (Hilda Doolittle), Richard Aldington, and F. S. Flint. The movement gained prominence through the 1914 anthology Des Imagistes, which helped define its aims.

Core principles of imagism centered on a direct treatment of the subject, precision of image, and economy of language. Poets sought to present concrete, sensory moments without sentimentality or discursive rhetoric. Language was chosen for exactness and musicality, with an emphasis on clear, sharp images rather than elaborate argument or abstraction. Many imagists preferred free verse or carefully controlled cadence, aiming to make each word contribute to the image or its illumination.

Notable works and figures embodying imagist ideals include Pound’s concise poems such as In a Station of the Metro and the image-driven pieces by H. D. and Aldington. The movement also drew in American poets such as Amy Lowell, who helped popularize and extend imagist principles. Imagism influenced later modernist poetry by promoting clarity, pared-down diction, and a word-for-image ethic, influencing poets beyond its immediate circle even as the formal movement faded by the end of the 1910s.

Legacy is that imagism contributed to a shift toward image-centered, economical lyric in English-language poetry and remains a reference point in studies of modernist technique and poetics.