Leda

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Modernism is a very specific and unique time period. The works that come from this period have a lot of qualities about them that other works do not. The poem "Leda" by H.D has lot of those characteristics. It holds one of the mail characteristics and other small characteristics as well. The main characteristic that it holds is imagery. It also holds some symbolism. Imagery in this poem is the most important part of them all. If the reader do not have the imagery in his or her head of what the poem is talking about, then they will be lost and will not get the full affect of the poem.

The Modernism writers want the readers to be able to visualize what they are reading. They want them to be able to feel what the chracters in the work feels. In "Leda", H.D uses imagery throughout her whole poem. "Where the slow river meets the tide, a red swan lifts red wings and darker beak, and underneath the purple down of his soft breast uncurls his coral feet (Leda). This is the first stanza of the poem. Being the opening of the poem, it has to open the reader to what the reader to what the poem is going to be all about. This opening did very well with that. H.D opened the reader with the imagery of the main point and focus of the rest of the poem. After you read this, you know that the main focus is going to be a bird by a river. Since the reader has the picture in their head to start with, you can easily add in the little images that come as the poem goes on. This is what Modernism is all about. eing able to see what you are reading and feeling what the author was feeling as he or she wrote it. So, Modernism eally does show in the poem.

H.D. shows Modernism in her other works as well. She may sow Modernism, but her works are also totally different. She uses different imagery and symbolism. She always has a different topic to write about as well. Another poem that I read was "Pool" by H.D. "Pool" may be short, but it still poses as an important way of showing Modernism and H.D.'s form of writing. "Are you alive? I touch you. You quiver like a sea-fish. I cover you with my net. What are you- banded one?" (Pool). This poem still shows great imagery even if it is not that long. As the reader reads it, they can start to wonder what is going to happen. This is an impact that her poems have. She allows your mind to continue to wander even if the poem is over.

H.D. is a very sophistiated woman writer. She was mainly writing for adults since teens duing that time had a hard time figuring out what her poems were all about (Hilda Doolittle). Her main audience was women, so her writing was very feminie. She very rarely threw a masculine quality inside her poems. "Where the sloe lifting of the tide, floats into the river and slowly drifts among the reeds, and lifts the yellow flags, he floats where tide and river meet" (Leda). When the reader reads this line from her poem, their first thought would definitely not be masculine. This was because she was not the writer to write to men when she was younger. She grew up with all women and that is how she was raised (hilda Doolittle). So, these are a few reason why H.D is the type of author that she was in the Modernism time.

Works Cited

"H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) (1886-1961)." //Georgetown University: Web Hosting//. Web. 05 May 2010. [].

"Additional Poems by H.D." //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. Web. 05 May 2010. [].

"Additional Poems by H.D." //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. Web. 05 May 2010. [].