Much like the First Canto, the Second Canto reads like an section of a narrative poem (though, as befitting the Second Canto, it reads as if a little further along into the story than the First). But it does not necessarily read as a continuation of the “narrative” implied in the First Canto.

The Second is also, dare I say, more character driven. It is also more explicitly about a journey of some sort. To my eyes, it reads more like an Odyssean tale – someone returning after years away from home, both older and wiser than when he left.

Formally, Pound has yet to do anything particularly innovative or experimental and his references are primarily to that birthplace of Western culture, Ancient Greece. Challenging to read? Yes. But not yet beyond the pale.