H.D.- Helen

In the poem “Helen” H.D. describes the Greek mythological statue of Helen of Troy. H.D. establishes the tone of the poem by stating in the first line the hatred Greeks have when looking at the statue of Helen. Helen’s statue is pictured as having “still eyes” standing amidst “the luster of olives.” This gives the relative location of this statue. As the poem continues in the second stanza, H.D. describes the hatred the Greeks feel looking at “the wan face” of Helen “when she smiles.” For the Greeks, the smile of Helen is a reminder of their past ills. With the poem’s conclusion in stanza three, H.D. describes the “love hate” relationship the Greeks have with the statue of Helen. For the Greeks, love of Helen’s legacy must come with the destruction of her statue. By analyzing the deeper meaning behind the images described by H.D. of the statue of Helen, one can see how the literal interpretation is established.

In the first stanza, the image that I feel is most significant is the image of Helen’s “white hands” and the reflection of olives on her face. Though the Greeks detest Helen for starting the Trojan War, the statue seems to represent her beauty. The statue’s white hands represent the statue’s purity overtime, something the Greeks greatly resent.

In the second stanza, the description of Helen’s smile seems to be a mockery of the turmoil Greeks had in the Trojan War. For the Greeks, the beauty of her smile brought death and destruction. The lust after her beauty by two men ultimately caused an empire to declare a full scale war.

In the third stanza, the depiction of Helen’s statue becoming “white ash amid funeral cypresses” displays the contradictions the Greeks have with Helen. Throughout poem, Helen is described as pure and having physical characteristics that no other woman can rival. Although Helen is pleasing to their eyes, the Greeks believe her image must be destroyed to the point of becoming just ash. As a result, her image will not invoke anger but her memory will be cherished.