Eglin 1

Howell Eglin
Mrs. Pritchard
English II: American Literature
19 March 2016
Hilda Doolittle: Tough Love
Hilda Doolittle used the people she met, the relationships she developed, and the
places she lived throughout her life as inspiration for her writing. Hilda Doolittle was
born in September 1886 in Bethlehem Pennsylvania (Schultz). Hilda Doolittle grew up
with an interesting upbringing in Pennsylvania, as her mother, Helen Woole was a
Moravian and having a unique set of ideals than most of the rest of the world. A
Moravian belief was that Her father, Charles Doolittle was an astronomer, so Hilda was
exposed to many different ideas and was able to diversify her thinking and knowledge.
Her father became the Flower Professor of Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania
in 1896 (Schultz). While Hilda Doolittle attended the Friends Central High School
during this time, she met William Carlos Williams who was a medical student at the
University of Pennsylvania (Schultz). The American poet William Carlos Williams,
who became friends with Hilda when he was a medical student at the university, later
described H. D.s father as a tall gaunt man who seldom even at table focused upon
anything nearer, literally, than the moon. (Schultz) William Carlos Williams would
become good friends with Hilda Doolittle throughout their lives. After Hilda Doolittle
attended the Friends Central High School in Philadelphia, she continued her studies at
Bryn Mawr College, which was an all girls college. She began attending Bryn Mawr


Eglin 2
College in 1904, but she was forced to drop out due to health reasons in 1906. However,
Doolittle continued her education at home. She showed a keen interest in Greek and
Latin studies (Schultz), and she continued these studies in her own time at home.
Hilda Doolittle developed many key relationships that helped her with her writing
throughout her life. She initially met Ezra Pound when she was fifteen years old and she
was in high school. At the time, Pound was a student at the University of
Pennsylvania(Cameron), however he was only a year older. In 1907, Hilda Doolittle and
Ezra Pound ended up becoming engaged Ezra Pound was very important in furthering
Hilda Doolittles career. While Pound was very instrumental in the modernist movement,
Hilda Doolittle was a central member of the Imagist movement, and has been said to be
one of the most influential. Even though Pound and Doolittle became engaged in 1907,
and had a great relationship as Pound helped Hilda immensely, Charles Doolittle
disapproved of Pound, and by the time that Pound went to Europe, they called the
engagement off. Hilda Doolittle showed an appreciation for both men and women, and
she was a bisexual. Around the time that she called off her engagement with Ezra Pound,
she began a relationship with Frances Josepha Gregg. From 1907 to 1913, her first
works were published in The Comrade, which was a Philadelphia Presbyterian Church
newspaper (Wikipedia). She sailed to Europe in 1911, and she began her more serious
career as a writer once she arrived. When she arrived in England, she showed Ezra
Pound, who had already been there, and he was very impressed by her poems, and he
thought they closely resembled the principles of poetry that Pound had been discussing
with another poet, Richard Aldington. These principles became the foundations of


Eglin 3
Imagism, and the three poets, Aldington, Pound, and Doolittle named themselves the
three original Imagists. After this, It was at that time that Pound gave her the
pseudonym and epithet H. D., Imagiste from which he promoted the poetic movement
of Imagism poetry that presents no slither, but a clear-cut image that presents an
intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. (Schultz)
Richard Aldington was born in July 1892 in Portsmouth, United
Kingdom(Britannica). Hilda Doolittle met him in 1911, and they were married two years
later. However, like most of her relationships, this was another short-lived one. They
divorced in 1917. This relationship had many issues as their daughter died at birth and
Aldington then took on a mistress in 1915. Aldington went to serve the military during
World War I, and when he came back he was a changed man, and the two divorced
shortly after in 1917 (McGill). However, during their marriage, they traveled to Paris
and met a man by the name of Henry Slominski. Slominski was a philosopher and an
inspiration to H.D. Doolittle spent many late nights with Slominski discussing Homer,
Plato, and other old Greek philosophers (Cameron). Doolittle claimed to have seen the
Greek God Pan, and this experience showed in her work as the Greek elements became
more prominent in her writing during this period. Ancient Greece was the primary focus
and interest in her poems. This relationship with Henry Slominski was a particularly
helpful one as it directly contributed to her writing at the time, which was heavily Greek
influenced.
The World War I time period was a powerful time for H.D.s writing. Bryher,
whos real name was Winifred Ellerman, became Hilda Doolittles lifelong companion.


Eglin 4
During this time period, Hilda Doolittle appeared in many Imagist anthologies. In 1933,
she began working with Sigmund Freud(Cameron), the philosopher. Like H.D., Freud
also had keen interest in Greek studies. Freud and H. D. were in some ways perfectly
matched: It is no surprise that her first account of her analysis, Tribute to Freud (1956),
was described by Freuds biographer Ernest Jones as surely the most delightful and
precious appreciation of Freuds personality that is ever likely to be written. (Cameron).
Freud and Doolittle meshed well together, and Freud stated to her that she was the perfect
bisexual because she respected and cared for both gender the same. What H.D. really did
with Freud was undergo and analysis. The analysis, for a trial period (8), was arranged
and paid for by H.D.s intimate friend and sometime lover, Bryher (Schwartz).
Sigmund Freud was the father of psychoanalysis, which is a set of psychological
and psychotherapeutic theories and associated techniques (Wikipedia). Hilda Doolittle
had had quite a rough life to this point as her child that she attempted to have with
Richard Aldington was a stillborn, her brother was killed in World War I, her father died
after never being able to accept the death of her brother, and many other traumatic
experiences. She wrote a journal about the analysis that was published in 1944, but
republished in 1956 under the title Tribute to Freud(Cameron). During World War II,
H.D. spent all of her time in London, and this was the first time living with Bryher for an
extended period of time. During this time, H.D. did a lot of writing. While spending so
much time with Bryher, this influenced her writing a substantial amount, as the two were
intimate friends that shared thoughts and ideas. She wrote The Gift, which was a memoir
of her childhood and life with family in Bethlehem Pennsylvania. During this time, she


Eglin 5
also wrote, The Walls do Not Fall (1944), Tribute to the Angels (1945), and The
Flowering of the Rod (1946).(Schultz).
Helen is a poem written by H.D., and this poem represents her love for Greek
studies vividly. This poem states that there was a wide hatred for Helen, who was the
most beautiful person in Greece. This is a prime example of when H.D. wrote with Greek
influences in her poem. However, even with showing the beauty of Helen, H.D. still
shows darkness in her writing with, could love indeed the maid, only if she were laid,
white ash amid funereal cypresses. (Doolittle 17-20). This section means that Greece
could indeed love the beautiful woman, but only if she was dead and turned into ashes.
This poem shows H.D.s knowledge with Greek studies. This also displays that her
relationship with Henry Slominski, and their discussions of Greek history aided her and
inspired her to write more about Ancient Greece in her poems.
An early poem written by H.D. named Sea Rose does away with the traditional
image of what a rose naturally symbolizes, which is beauty and love. Also, a woman
could also symbolize beauty and love. However, in this poem, H.D. takes a different
approach. She again attacks with darkness in her poem. She shows that this rose is not
beautiful in the beginning of this poem, Rose, harsh rose, marred and with stint of
petals, (Doolittle 1-2). This shows the darkness that Hilda Doolittle is trying to convey.
The rose symbolizes a woman, and that the woman is treated poorly, and that she is
showing how women are treated unfairly. This poem showed her care for women, which
was also shown in her life as her lifelong partner, Bryher was a woman.


Eglin 6
The poem Heat was written by Hilda Doolittle and published in 1915. This poem
is very vivid and seemingly heavy. In this poem, O WIND, rend open the heat, Cut apart
the heat, Rend it to tatters. (Doolittle 1-3). The wind in this poem is trying to escape
from the heat, as the wind is to cut apart the heat. The heat weighs heavy, which connects
to Hilda Doolittles life because events weighed heavy in H.D.s life in 1915. She and
Richard Aldington had a stillborn baby. This took a toll emotionally on H.D. and the
heaviness in this poem could connect to her life. This is a prime example of when her
relationship in her life correlated directly and influenced her writing.
A little known poem by H.D. Never More Will the Wind is a very powerful work.
She wrote about wind in two of the poems that was selected, and this seems like a
preferable symbol for her. In the poem Heat, she also used the wind as a symbol in her
writing. Never more will the wind cherish you again, never more will the rain.
(Doolittle 1-3). This excerpt from this poems showed that something has been done
wrong and the wind and rain will never cherish this person that did something terrible.
Doolittle had not shied away from getting fairly dark in her writing because she
experienced trauma throughout her life and with her relationships.
The relationships that Hilda Doolittle created helped her with her writing, even
though her experiences with these people were not always the best for her. Hilda
Doolittle experienced a lot of trauma in her life, although she also had bright points. Both
were illustrated in her writing. The places that she lived influenced what she wrote about
as she lived in London during World War II with her longtime soul mate Bryher. Both of


Eglin 7
these factors aided her in her writing during this time period. She held a substantial
amount of important relationships that helped her writing and improvement of her career.
These names included Bryher, Ezra Pound, Richard Aldington, William Carlos Williams,
Sigmund Freud, and especially her parents who influenced her early on in childhood with
their unique ideas. In conclusion, the relationships that Hilda Doolittle had with people
she met inspired her writing and helped her throughout her entire writing career.


Eglin 8
Works Cited Page

Charles, Cameron. "H.D." Ebsco Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
<http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=103331DWT10830270000180&site=eds-live>.
Doolittle, Hilda. "Helen." Poets. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/helen>.
"H.D." CS McGill. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/
~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/h/H.D..htm>.
Schultz, Steven P. "H.D." Ebsco Host. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
<http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=103331MSA11169830000115&site=eds-live>.
"Sea Rose." Encyclopedia. Cengage Learning, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3079300021/sea-rose.html>.
"H.D." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.D.>.
"Richard Aldington." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web.
6 Apr. 2016. <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Aldington>.
Schwartz, Murray M. "Analyzing Freud: Letters of H.D., Bryher and Their Circle
(review)." Project Muse. Johns Hopkins University Press, Spring 2004. Web.
6 Apr. 2016. <http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/aim/summary/v061/
61.1schwartz.html>.
Doolittle, Hilda. "Heat." Poets. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 6 Apr.
2016. <https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/heat>.
- - -. "Sea Rose." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177769>.
- - -. "Never More Will the Wind." American Poems. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/hd/8097>.


Heat
O WIND, rend open the heat,
Cut apart the heat,
Rend it to tatters.
Fruit cannot drop
Through this thick air
Fruit cannot fall into heat
That presses up and blunts
The points of pears
And rounds the grapes.
Cut the heat
Plough through it,
Turning it on either side
Of your path
All Greece hates
the still eyes in the white face,
the lustre as of olives
where she stands,
and the white hands.
Helen
All Greece reviles
the wan face when she smiles,
hating it deeper still
when it grows wan and white,
remembering past enchantments
and past ills.
Greece sees, unmoved,
God's daughter, born of love,
the beauty of cool feet
and slenderest knees,
could love indeed the maid,
only if she were laid,
white ash amid funereal cypresses.
Never More Will The Wind
Never more will the wind
cherish you again,
never more will the rain.
Never more

10


shall we find you bright
in the snow and wind.
The snow is melted,
the snow is gone,
and you are flown:
Like a bird out of our hand,
like a light out of our heart,
you are gone.
Sea Rose
Rose, harsh rose,
marred and with stint of petals,
meagre flower, thin,
sparse of leaf,
more precious
than a wet rose
single on a stem
you are caught in the drift.
Stunted, with small leaf,
you are flung on the sand,
you are lifted
in the crisp sand
that drives in the wind.
Can the spice-rose
drip such acrid fragrance
hardened in a leaf?