Why was ezra pound so important to the evolution of poetry in the early 20th century? 2. define stagnant. 3. who did pound look to as the founder of truly american poetry, and why? 4. define unencumbered. 5. define begrudgingly. 6. what did pound draw from in whitman's poetry, and what did he want to change? 7. define tenets. 8. what was pound's goal in transforming poetry? 9. explain what pound meant by "direct treatment of the thing." 10. define abstractions. 11. despite the fact that pound found whitman to be too wordy, what did he admire about whitman's language, and what did he want to achieve in modern poetry? 12. define cadence. 13. how did pound believe that highly structured rhythm or rhyme affected a poem's purpose?