Personal Statement; the University of Edinburgh; MSc in Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the present.

“And then went down to the ship, / Set keel to breakers, forth on the godly sea” from Ezra Pound’s Canto I (propels my journey towards modernism)[ logical confusion ]. By using the poetic persona to (recreate and mirror)[ reverse order ] the[ article error ] classical allusion[to what?  ] in a modern context, Pound revitalizes that great tradition[what tradition?  ]. The strong interest[ subject fails to echo the prior sentence ] in (figuring out)[ informal writing ] the meaning of these borrowed themes has kindled my passion (for modernism)[ unclear ], especially the classical reception in this period[what period  ], and motivated me to apply to the programme “MSc in Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the present”[programme/course  ] at[ presented by ] the University of Edinburgh.

During my undergraduate years, I have laid a solid foundation in modernist English literature. Courses like “American Society and Culture” and “British and American Poetry” have informed me of transformations in western society after the 1900s, such as the death of God claimed by Friedich Nietzsche and the thrive of capitalism. I have also learned how these thoughts turn the trend of literature. For instance, T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, a great poem of modernism, represents the current world as a scene of ruin by using fragmental images and symbols instead of coherent and certain statements.

Apart from modernist literature, I also have a strong interest in classics. I have audited the language course, “Latin”, for one semester and taken “Ancient Greek” for four semesters, which enables me to easily understand Latin and Greek quotations in modernist works. In addition, I have closely read the Greek text of Plato’s Apology, and the English version of Homer’s epics and hymns. Last year, my essay “Between Citizenship and Kinship: The Justice in Antigone”, which discussed the conflict around Antigone, Creon, and Harmon in the tragedy, was awarded Jury Prize in the first “Xin Miao” Undergraduate Academic Forum held in SISU. These studies have allowed me to analyze the adaptation of ancient literature in modern eras, such as Joyce’s Ulysses.

My current graduate thesis, which focuses on Ezra Pound’s adaptation of cultural and personal history in Cantos I-III, attempts to argue that while history is both dominant and mutable, only a few people can look beneath its mutability and obey its dominance, and the poet himself faces history with peace. Writing this thesis helps me understand better how modernist writers order their discontinuous elements into larger patterns of world literature like Homer’s Odyssey and Ovid’s Metamorphosis.

After my admittance to the programme, I am eager to undertake my studies with Professors Roxana Preda, chair of “Pound Society”, and Peter Adkins. I learned from Professor Preda’s research, Constantin BrâncuŞi, Vorticist, how Ezra Pound emphasizes image as a fundamental element of poetry after encountering sculpture and art criticism. I was also informed by Adkins’ The Eyes of That Cow of how James Joyce, facing the ethics of vegetarianism, calls for empathy with animals, rather than the absolute refusal of meat only. In addition, courses at the university like “Tragedy and Modernity”, along with the event of Edinburgh Art Festival, assist me to appreciate various modern art forms. In return, I am willing to hold reading groups at the University, focusing on topics like the comparison between ancient Chinese poem and their translation in Pound’s Cathay. Finally, if I am fortunate enough to earn a degree from this program, I will choose to pursue doctoral studies, focusing on the relation between English modernist literature, western classical works and ancient Chinese culture.