imagism

[im-uh-jiz-uhm]

noun

Literature.

1. (often initial capital letter),  a theory or practice of a group of poets in England and America between 1909 and 1917 who believed that poetry should employ the language of common speech, create new rhythms, have complete freedom in subject matter, and present a clear, concentrated, and precise image.

2. a style of poetry that employs free verse and the patterns and rhythms of common speech.

imagism

/ ˈɪmɪˌdʒɪzəm /

noun

1. a poetic movement in England and America between 1912 and 1917, initiated chiefly by Ezra Pound, advocating the use of ordinary speech and the precise presentation of images

Other Word Forms

• imagist noun
• imagistic adjective
• imagistically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of imagism¹

First recorded in 1910–15; image + -ism

Example Sentences

It fused folk forms including spirituals and work songs and modernist techniques such as free verse, imagism and stream-of-consciousness.

Read more on Time

She became imagism's ambassador, and edited the three subsequent anthologies.

Read more on The Guardian

Norman gave me great encouragement regarding two of my books on imagism.

Read more on The Guardian

The significance of that achievement, which Robinson shares with a near-contemporary, Edgar Lee Masters, can be too easily submerged by the more dramatic renovations of imagism.

Read more on The Guardian

As Miss Lowell is the principal exponent of the theories of imagism and free verse in this country, careful reading of some of her critical papers leads to a better understanding of her work.

Read more on Project Gutenberg