Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Helen in Egypt -- H D

Guest poem submitted by David Wright, an excerpt
from:
(Poem #689) Helen in Egypt
 This is the spread of wings,
 whether the Straits claimed them
 or the Cyclades,

 whether they floundered on the Pontic seas
 or ran aground before the Hellespont,
 whether they shouted Victory at the gate,

 whether the bowmen shot them from the Walls,
 whether they crowded surging through the breach,
 or died of fever on the smitten plain,

 whether they rallied and came home again,
 in the worn hulks, half-rotted from the salt
 or sun-warped on the beach,

 whether they scattered or in companies,
 or three or two sought the old ways of home,
 whether they wandered as Odysseus did,

 encountering new adventure, they are one;
 no, I was not instructed, but I "read" the script,
 I read the writing when he seized my throat,

 this was his anger,
 they were mine, not his,
 the unnumbered host;

 mine, all the ships,
 mine, all the thousand petals of the rose,
 mine, all the lily-petals,

 mine, the great spread of wings,
 the thousand sails,
 the thousand feathered darts

 that sped them home,
 mine, the one dart in the Achilles-heel,
 the thousand-and-one, mine.
-- H D
Lately I've been reading H.D.'s Helen in Egypt and very much enjoying it,
although I'm hard pressed to express why.  The book-length poem takes as its
subject a story that dates back at least as far as the sixth century Greek
lyric poet Stesichorus, and was the subject of a play by Euripides as well.
The story is an alternate version of the Troy legend in which Zeus placed a
phantom Helen upon the ramparts of Troy and kept the faithful wife safe in
Egypt until Menelaus retrieved her.  In H.D.'s version she has encounters
with the spirit of Achilles who comes limping onto the shore, (it is he that
seizes her throat in the passage above, although that is not where their
story ends), as well as with Theseus and Paris, who she does after all seem
to have run off with.

I'm sure there is much interesting matter to be found in the author's
biography, the effect of the post-war years, the relationship of the poem to
Pound's Cantos -- it is supposed to be something of a feminist response --
the layers of Woolf-y psychology or the author's symbols, and I expect it
would be easy to find all sorts of explication of the piece. H.D. has
provided her own explanation in short prose passages before each verse,
originally composed to aid in a recording of the piece, and making this a
very accessible poem to read, I think.

What has captured me is the language, which shares with much ancient Greek
lyric a spare directness combined with this enchanting, at times incantatory
power.  (I guess enchanting and incantatory are just French and Latin for
the same thing, eh?)  And her feel for rhythm, her respect for the pulse,
make this a pleasure to read aloud.  I don't read Greek myself, but I
understand ancient Greek is very plain and unadorned in comparison with
English, or English poetry, anyway.  The whole poem is suffused with mystic
longing and with Love-Death.  If you enjoy reading Homer, this is a
fascinating counterpart to it.

(I'll insert a plug for one of my other favorite modern poetic treatments of
an ancient epic, although it is an altogether different sort of thing, very
prosy and sardonic.  This is Jason & Medeia, by John Gardner, a wonderful
author who hardly anybody seems to read anymore.)

David Wright.

PS. Other poems by H. D. on the Minstrels:
"Oread" poem #310
"Helen" poem #449
The first of these has a biography, critical analysis, and links to other
Imagist poetry. The second kicks off a set of poems on the Trojan War, which
might be of interest read in conjunction which today's poem. - t.

39 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Anonymous said...

Aw, this was a really good post. Finding the time and actual effort to create a top notch article… but what
can I say… I put things off a lot and never
manage to get nearly anything done.

My blog post; paleo ernährung

Anonymous said...

Hi there terrific website! Does running a blog like this take a large amount of work?
I have absolutely no knowledge of computer programming however I was hoping to start my
own blog soon. Anyway, should you have any recommendations or
techniques for new blog owners please share.
I understand this is off topic nevertheless I just had to ask.
Many thanks!

Here is my blog post - psd to wordpress

Anonymous said...

It's appropriate time to make a few plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have learn this post and if I may I want to counsel you some attention-grabbing things or suggestions. Perhaps you could write subsequent articles relating to this article. I want to learn even more things approximately it!

Feel free to visit my web-site; leichter diätplan

Anonymous said...

I am in fact happy to glance at this weblog posts which consists of plenty of useful information,
thanks for providing such statistics.

Look at my web page :: zuckerfreies müsli

Anonymous said...

Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book
in it or something. I think that you could do
with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of
that, this is excellent blog. A great read. I'll certainly be back.

Also visit my homepage; steinzeiternährung

Anonymous said...

Hi there mates, how is all, and what you would like to say about this article, in my view its truly remarkable designed for me.


my page; dividendenstarke aktien
my web site - Finanzberatung Mainz

Anonymous said...

My brother recommended I might like this web site.

He was totally right. This post truly made my day.
You cann't imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!

my web blog - thai massagepraxis wiesbaden

Anonymous said...

When I initially left a comment I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment.
Perhaps there is a means you are able to remove me from that service?

Thanks!

Also visit my webpage: arbeitszimmer afa
Also see my web site :: steuerberater wiesbaden

Anonymous said...

We stumbled over here different web page
and thought I may as well check things out. I like what I see so
now i'm following you. Look forward to exploring your web page repeatedly.

My web page ... low carb stores online

Anonymous said...

I every time spent my half an hour to read this blog's posts everyday along with a mug of coffee.

Feel free to surf to my blog - steuberater in wiesbaden

Anonymous said...

I always used to read piece of writing in news papers but now as I am
a user of internet therefore from now I am using net for
content, thanks to web.

Feel free to visit my web page - kochrezept

Anonymous said...

I am curious to find out what blog platform you're working with? I'm experiencing some minor security problems
with my latest website and I would like to find something more safeguarded.
Do you have any recommendations?

Feel free to visit my website: kohlenhydrate nahrungsmittel tabelle
My page: glutenfrei

Anonymous said...

Very rapidly this website will be famous among all blog viewers, due to
it's fastidious posts

my homepage hauskatzen

Anonymous said...

Hello There. I found your blog the use of msn. That
is an extremely well written article. I'll make sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I will certainly comeback.

Also visit my website ... wordpress grundkurs

Anonymous said...

This is my first time go to see at here and i am truly impressed to
read everthing at single place.

Take a look at my web blog; wordpress schulung

Anonymous said...

Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed!

Very useful information specially the last part :
) I care for such info much. I was seeking this particular info for a very long
time. Thank you and good luck.

my website :: paleo rezepte mittagessen

Anonymous said...

We absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post's to be what precisely I'm looking for.

Do you offer guest writers to write content in your case?
I wouldn't mind composing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write in relation to here. Again, awesome site!

Feel free to visit my page koch dich schlank

Anonymous said...

Hello! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group
of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche.
Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You
have done a outstanding job!

my blog: Anlageberater Mainz

Anonymous said...

Hello to all, how is everything, I think every
one is getting more from this website, and your views are
pleasant in favor of new viewers.

Here is my web page - Anlageberater in Mainz

Anonymous said...

I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great.
I do not know who you are but certainly you're going to a famous blogger if you are not already ;) Cheers!

My web site lebensmittel ohne kohlenhydrate tabelle

Anonymous said...

Hi all, here every one is sharing these kinds of familiarity, therefore it's fastidious to read this website, and I used to pay a quick visit this webpage every day.

Feel free to visit my web-site hq oder wolkenstürmer
my web site > lenkmatten tipps

Anonymous said...

Hi there it's me, I am also visiting this website on a regular basis, this web site is really pleasant and the users are truly sharing pleasant thoughts.

My webpage: wordpress tutorials

Anonymous said...

I got this site from my buddy who told me concerning this web site and at the
moment this time I am browsing this web page and reading very informative
posts here.

my webpage; twenty ten schriftart ändern

Anonymous said...

I needed to thank you for this very good read!! I definitely loved every bit of it.
I've got you saved as a favorite to look at new things you post…

my weblog ... logi methode pyramide
Also see my site: abnehmen mit magenballon

Anonymous said...

fantastic issues altogether, you simply won a emblem new reader.
What could you suggest about your post that you simply made a few days ago?
Any positive?

my weblog the badass of tao

Anonymous said...

I have learn a few good stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting.
I surprise how much attempt you set to make such a wonderful
informative site.

Here is my blog post: get the tao of badass

Anonymous said...

That is a great tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
Brief but very accurate information… Appreciate your sharing this one.
A must read post!

Here is my website; the tao of the badass pdf

Unknown said...

If you need to obtain a small amount in a short time, there are not many options. Getting a loan involves a long and complicated process and urgent needs that are not a help. One can pay a medical bill or for the Bad Credit Loans Pounds Need for People with Instant Decision payment of outstanding bills. In this case you can use the simplest option available to go and that is bad credit loans. They help a person to make money for something as simple as sending an SMS to do.
http://ukloansforbadcredits.co.uk/

Unknown said...

all had been presented with a perfect through this website .. sharp and accurate information reliable .. thanks you cara membesarkan penis have willingly shared with us.

Unknown said...

all of which have been presented by this website was perfect, good bathroom | minimalist home design | yamaha appearance and artikelnya..penuh color and full of meaning ..

jokammedia said...

Nice , I like this blog posts, wellcome to admin this blog. By Cipto junaedy

unsgu said...

memang website yang keren memang harus begini,selalu mengedepankan kepuasan price motorcycles and cars dan banyak memberi manfaat bagi pengunjungnya.

iklan baris said...

Thank you for posting this poem, I like reading it.
iklan baris gratis
pasang iklan gratis

Unknown said...

all of which have been design for home presented by this website was perfect, good appearance and price kawasaki ninja artikelnya..penuh color and full of meaning .. interior home design

Post a Comment