Biography

Hilda Doolittle was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a music teacher and an astronomer. When she was fifteen, her father was appointed head of the observatory at the University of Pennsylvania, so the family moved to Philadelphia; there, Doolittle met Ezra Pound, then a student. It was Pound who gave her the pen name "H. D.," which she used for the first time in 1913 when Poetry magazine published three of her poems. With her spare, elegant lyrics; vivid phrasing; concrete, compelling imagery; and short poetic line, H. D. became one of the primary writers of the Imagism movement. Her works include The Walls Do Not Fall (1944), Tribute to the Angels (1945), The Flowering Rod (1946), and Collected Poems 1912-1944 (1983).

Explorations

The NAAL selections of H. D.'s work show us a poet whose range of interests and voices extends considerably beyond her usual categorization as an "Imagist." Though some of her early poems may seem generically within that mode, the expansion and sophistication of her voice and subject matter after World War I show us an individual talent leaving behind a school of poetry and going in its own direction.

1. Mid-day (1916) is a poem laden with interesting verbs; the first three stanzas of Fragment 113 (1922) have almost no verbs at all. How do you account for this difference, in these two poems, with regard to language?

2. When H. D. turns to classical subjects, metaphors, and motifs, what seem to be her intentions? Look carefully at Helen (1924) and at stanzas 1-3 of The Walls Do Not Fall (1944) in developing an answer to this question. Why does the poet move away from classical allusions later in this poem?

3. Describe H. D. as a nature poet. In what spirit does she regard the natural world? With Transcendentalist spirituality? With a skepticism like Stevens's or with a mingled response reminiscent of Dickinson? Refer to specific moments in these poems when answering this question.

Other sites to consult:

• Hilda Doolittle. Part of a University of Texas student site called "Imagist Women: Their Lives and Their Poetry." Features four poems, an H. D. chronology, and a discussion of the Modernist figures with whom she had relationships.
• The H. D. Home Page. A comprehensive list of H. D.-related links. Maintained by Heather Hawkins.
• H. D.: Gathering the Fragments. A project by Susan Feidner (a student at SUNY-Albany) which explores H. D.'s use of verse to confront the turbulence in her personal relationships.
• Academy of American Poets H. D. page. Includes a biography, five poems, audio clip of H. D. reading from "Helen in Egypt," links to other H. D. sites, and a bibliography. Also includes a link to the AAP online exhibition "The Modernist Revolution: Make It New!" in which Cummings is discussed.