Open to Interpretations
#Troy
Game on...on the radio...Dodgers 1-Diamondbacks 1...top of seventh...the modern poet, HD, wrote a poem about Helen of Troy in the fashion of ancient Greek playwrites...bbk...
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H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) wrote two famous poems focusing on Helen of Troy. The best-known is her short, 18-line masterpiece simply titled "Helen" (1924), which explores how culture and mythology vilify Helen for her beauty. She also wrote the book-length epic "Helen in Egypt" (1961), which reimagines the myth, drawing from the legend that Helen was spirited to Egypt and an illusion was fought over at Troy.
[1, 2, 3, 4]
🧐https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57280/pallinode-book-1-section-7
🎶Dodgers 1-Diamonds Backs 2...on yt...Alabama 0-Texas Tech 1...2 runners on, no outs...TT eliminated Nebraska...1-5 out...fly out...fly out...I must have read H.D., but didn't note...here, tho, her take on Helen, a pause...Bama up...6-3 out...oh, trying to get a take on H.D. difficult...lots of chat...curious to find her take on Egypt-imagists drawn to Egyptian art...
✨️imagists drawn to Egyptian art
Imagist poets, such as Ezra Pound and H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), were drawn to ancient Egyptian art and mythology because its aesthetic principles perfectly aligned with the goals of Imagism. The core appeals of Egyptian art and poetry to these modernists include: [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Conciseness and Precision: Egyptian hieroglyphics—which are simultaneously visual images and a written language—fascinated Imagists like Pound and H.D. They admired how the symbols combined deep meaning into a single, concrete shape, much like the Imagist Movement goal to present a hard, clear image rather than vague, abstract language. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]Stasis and Energy: Egyptian relief carvings and statuary possess a unique combination of stillness and immense structural power. T.E. Hulme, an aesthetic philosopher and the "father of Imagism," championed the idea of rigid, geometric, and durable art. This heavily influenced Pound’s transition from Imagism to Vorticism, where he celebrated the energy of an image frozen at its most active, central point. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]Mysticism and Synchronicity: H.D. drew heavily from the intersection of Greek and Egyptian mythologies to explore the unconscious mind, esoteric spirituality, and the agency of ancient women. Her epic sequence Helen in Egypt uses these traditions to re-evaluate archetypes of beauty, wisdom, and mystery. [1, 2]
By studying Egyptian artifacts and architecture, Imagists sought to strip away romantic Victorian verbosity and reconnect with the direct, timeless power of ancient forms of communication. [1, 2, 3]
H.D. - Wikipedia
H.D. was keenly interested in Ancient Greek literature and published numerous Greek translations. Her poems routinely drew from Greek mythology and classical poetry...
🎶welp, no matter where I go, I find footprints, thinking I was on an unexplored track...Texas Tech won over Alabama-on to final against Texas...back to Dodgers...Dodgers 1-Diamondbacks 4...Angels on...Rockies 8-Angels 4...Angels score two runs...tie game!...Rockies 8-Angels 8...bottom of eighth...Trout up...3-1...3-2...4-6-3...to top of ninth...imagism was introduced to me in school as arriving from Japan and China...but early on, H.D., with boyfriend Ezra Pound, was into Egypt...which means they all were...which makes sense...King Tut's tomb...Rockies on second and third...Rockies 9-Angels 8...to bottom of ninth..
✨️Robert Graves comments on Hilda Doolittle
Robert Graves’s comments on the Imagist poet Hilda Doolittle (H.D.)evolved significantly over their lifetimes, transitioning from early dismissiveness during his modernist critique phase to a deep, mutual fascination with mythology in their later years. [1, 2]
Early Dismissal (1927)
In A Survey of Modernist Poetry (co-written with Laura Riding), Graves harshly critiqued H.D.’s early Imagist work. He characterized her poetry as "thin, poor, and empty," condemning what he and Riding saw as the "twentieth-century dead movement" of Imagism. [1, 2]
Mythological Intersection (1940s–1960s)
As Graves developed his own theories regarding the Triple Goddess and muse-driven poetry, his view of H.D. radically shifted. H.D. became deeply inspired by Graves's seminal work, The White Goddess. She used his archetypal frameworks to structure her late-career epic poems, most notably Helen in Egypt. H.D. herself claimed to be the living incarnation of the goddess figures Graves wrote about. [1, 2]
Legacy and Reflection
In his later essays and critiques—such as in his collection The Crowning Privilege—Graves softened toward the modernist generation, including H.D., acknowledging their integral role in the trajectory of English literature. The mutual exchange of ideas between Graves's mythology and H.D.'s esoteric mysticism remains a major focal point in literary critiques of their works. [1, 2, 3]
🎶🙄"incarnation"...too much...more like a six lane roadway than footprints...hmmph...final out under review...out...game over...Rockies 9-Angels 8...
:)
DavidDavid
