THE POOL BY

H.D.
ANALYSIS BROUGHT TO YOU BY DIEGO ORTEGA CARRILLO
HILDA DOOLITTLE (1886-1961)

 Hilda Doolittle was born in 1886 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Upper Darby.
 Writing under the pen name H.D., her work as a writer spanned five decades of the 20th century (1911-
1961), and incorporates work in a variety of genres.
 She is known primarily as a poet, but she also wrote novels, memoirs, and essays and did a number of
translations from the Greek.
 Her work is consistently unique and original, both reflecting and contributing to the avant-garde milieu
that dominated the arts in London and Paris until the end of World War II.
 Immersed for decades in the intellectual crosscurrents of modernism, psychoanalysis, syncretism
mythologies, and feminism, H.D. created a unique voice and vision that sought to bring meaning to the
fragmented shards of a war-torn culture.
THE POOL BY H.D.
Are you alive?
I touch you.
You quiver like a sea-fish.
I cover you with my net.
RETRIEVED FROM: POETRY
What are you—banded one? FOUNDATION.COM
THE POOL BY H.D. (VIDEO)
BACKGROUND

 The poem was first published in the 1915 anthology Some Imagist Poets.
 ‘The Pool’ is one of the most famous and widely discussed Imagist poems, and in many ways it
conforms to the central ‘tenets’ of that movement as set out by Ezra Pound in his unofficial
manifesto, ‘A Few Don’ts by an Imagiste’.
 As an Imagist poet, Doolittle confines herself to minimal impressions, like one keeping a secret -as
indeed she may be- although her bare words maintain a dual tone: the poet is both curious and
fearful, even through several possible interpretations.
ANALYSIS I

 MAIN TOPIC: We know the setting of the poem is a pool, probably a rock-pool given the fact that
the speaker of the poem is carrying a net. The speaker spots something in the pool, wonders if it is
alive, touches it, making the thing quiver like a fish; she then covers the thing with a net. The poem
ends with her still wondering what this thing is.
 NUMBER OF STANZAS/VERSES: One cinquain (5 lines stanza).
ANALYSIS II

Are you alive?

 It’s unrhymed, it has no regular meter, it uses
no superfluous word or phrase, and it has at its I touch you.
center a strong, clear image, an ‘image’ being
defined by Pound as ‘that which presents an You quiver like a sea-fish.
intellectual and emotional complex in an instant
of time.’
I cover you with my net.
 I will try to define with colors both the content
and function words.
What are you—banded
one?
ANALYSIS III

 There are multiple topics the poem might be about, but I am to include the ones I like the most.
 FEAR IN DISCOVERY: If, under the surface, the "who" is a new discovery -a new lover, for
example -- it is alive but appears dead at first. It awakens to love's touch and must be "banded" by the
net- hence the fearfulness.
 POOL AS A MIRROR: Doolittle's pool may be a mirror. The poet, who is bisexual, may be capturing
her inner self, "banded" to a gay-repressive society's idea of her legitimate being. This interpretation
increases the fearful tone; Doolittle is afraid to free herself.
 NEEDING TO KNOW: The "sea-fish" may be Doolittle's divided psyche, an idea derived from
her Freudian treatments as "H.D." its "banded" coloring may be protective. The poem's divided
tone, like id and superego, indicates a fear of knowing oneself, but an insuperable need to know.
ANALYSIS IV

 Is there a relevant connection between the rhyming words and the topic?

In this case, there are no rhyming words.

 Are there any metaphors or similes?

Yes, it is possible that the whole poem is a metaphor. In one of these multiple theories, it is suggested
that the pool itself refers to a mirror.
We can find a simile in ‘’you quiver like a sea-fish’’, which might refer to the self.
ANALYSIS V

 Do you find any example of hyperbaton?

No.
 Do you find oxymoron, antithesis or hyperbole?

No, there are not any.

Does the poem deal with the real or the fantastic?
Deals with the real world, as there are no fantastic references.
ANALYSIS VI

 Do you think that the poem has any validity in our time?

Yes, from my perspective, this poem goes beyond the literal word meaning. It is about self-discovery
from a third person perspective where one can take the ‘’marine-life form’’ presented and question
oneself Are you alive? What are you? I find this topic atemporal to the human being, as we are in a
constant metamorphosis.
ANALYSIS VII

 What does the poem tell you?

It is an invitation to both get to know more about ourselves and the relationship with the self.
Would you recommend the poem? Why? To whom?
To anyone, it is a relatively short poem that can be read in less than 1 minute, but that poses multiple
questions helpful to anyone in a self-discovery journey or that is adventurous enough to dive into this
process.
ANALYSIS VIII

 CONTEMPORARY REFERENCES: I could not find any references in movies, videos or music, but
it is a poem quoted in many social media groups.
REFERENCES

HUDSON, Frank. 2018. The Pool. FrankHudson.org [online] Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/3pzV0TZ
Hans Ostrom. Sep 13, 2014. "The Pool," by H.D. [video] Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/3poIZR0
Interesting Literature Editors. 2020. A Short Analysis of Hilda Doolittle’s ‘The Pool’. Interesting Literature. [online] Retrieved
from: https://bit.ly/36Ct09c
STRATFORD, Michael. 2017. What Is the Tone of the Poem ‘‘The Pool’’?. The Pen and Pad. [online] Retrieved from:
https://bit.ly/32HR2Pe
Poetry Foundation Editors. 2020. The Pool by H.D. Poetry Foundation. [online] Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/3nlM9D7
Poetry Foundation Editors. 2020. H.D. Poetry Foundation. [online] Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/2IBWxaK