Analysis of Sea Rose

Hilda Doolittle 1886 (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) – 1961 (Zurich)



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?


Scheme AXXB XAXX BCXCX AXB
Poetic Form
Metre 111 1011110 1101 111 110 1011 10101 111001 10111 111101 1110 0011 11001 1011 111010 10001
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 350
Words 67
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 5, 3
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 16
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 66
Words per stanza (avg) 16
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

20 sec read
158

Hilda Doolittle

Hilda Doolittle was an American poet, novelist, and memoirist, associated with the early 20th century avant-garde Imagist group of poets, including Ezra Pound and Richard Aldington. She published under the pen name H. D. Hilda was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1886, and grew up just outside Philadelphia in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, and attended Bryn Mawr College. She moved to London in 1911, where she played a central role within the then-emerging Imagist movement. Young and charismatic, she was championed by the modernist poet Ezra Pound, who was instrumental in building her career. From 1916–17, she acted as the literary editor of the Egoist journal, while her poetry appeared in the English Review and the Transatlantic Review.  more…

All Hilda Doolittle poems | Hilda Doolittle Books

0 fans

Discuss this Hilda Doolittle poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Sea Rose" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19279/sea-rose>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Hilda Doolittle

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    20
    hours
    4
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "School Boy" as a part of the poetry collection entitled "Songs of Experience"?
    A William Wordworth
    B Walt Whitman
    C Robert Frost
    D William Blake