Essay on Hilda Doolittle

Okay, so I wrote this for a poetry class, and I think I'll probably reorganize it a bit later and move the paragraphs around, but I'd like your opinions on it! I did struggle a bit with the conclusion, but I managed to write something, at least. xD And apppparently I'm allowed to use Wikipedia as my one and only source.

--

Hilda Doolittle, better known as H.D., was a famous writer who mostly wrote poetry. According to Wikipedia (n.d.), she wrote and published poetry from 1911 to the late 50s. Several things throughout her life influenced her poetry and encouraged her to continue writing, including her many relationships and the wars that went on during her life.

One of the many things that inspired and affected Hilda’s poetry was her sexuality. Some of her poems, ‘At Bala’ for example, seem to be about sex and bisexuality. She was engaged with Ezra Pound for a short period of time before they called it off; which may have been due to other relationships. Around the same time of the engagement, Hilda was involved with Frances Josepha Gregg. Their relationship lasted for a year before Hilda focused more on her writing, and later in life she had a child named Frances, possibly named after Gregg.

Several large events happened in Hilda’s life during the time of World War I. Her brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1918 while fighting in the war. This greatly upset her and her family, especially her father, who died the next year. Soon after her miscarriage, her husband also went out to fight the war, who took a mistress at the same time while Hilda got involved with Cecil Gray. Soon after, she gave birth to Gray’s child, Frances. Hilda didn’t appear to write much poetry at this time.

Towards the end of the first world war, Hilda met Annie Winifred Ellerman, also known as Bryher. They shared several lovers and boyfriends, and stayed together until 1946. Around this time, Hilda gave birth to her daughter, Frances. Later on, Bryher married Kenneth Macpherson and traveled throughout Europe with him. The couple also adopted Perdita, Hilda’s daughter. Another main lover of Hilda’s was Ezra Pound. They remained friends and possibly even lovers after they called off the engagement.

In 1944, Hilda wrote a trilogy including “The Walls Do Not Fall” which most likely represented the upcoming Second World War. Only two years after she wrote that, and shortly after writing the last part of the trilogy, “The Flowering Of The Rod”, she had a mental breakdown and ended up in a clinic until the next fall. The war was the most likely cause of the breakdown. Around the time of the war, she wrote “The Gift”, which was a memoir of her family and her life, and how it inspired her writings. Later in the 50s, she wrote “End To Torment”, which was a memoir on Ezra Pound, who assisted her in becoming a successful poet.

In 1905, Ezra Pound gave Hilda a book made up of love poems, titled “Hilda’s Book”. Pound also helped her write her poetry and helped her get it into the public, in magazines and books. They also worked together on their own magazine, which she edited and submitted her own poems to. Ezra Pound also introduced her to several other poets and writers who she later became friends or lovers with.

Hilda wrote a poem in 1947 titled “Helen”, which seemed to be about someone who was dead. It suggests it was about her mother, who was named Helen and who likely died by then. Her brother had already died in 1918, along with her father in the year after due to depression and he never had recovered from his son’s death. While in college, Hilda met several other poets, and was introduced to more by Ezra Pound, including people like William Carlos Williams and Marianne Moore. This helped her get feedback and get into the public with her poetry, which influenced and encouraged her to write more and to continue her poetry career for several more years.

Many things influenced H.D., and if things had been slightly different, she may never have pursued her life as a poet. She died in the July of 1961 from a stroke, though her poetry and memory will probably never die; thanks to the encouragement and influences from other poets and experiences through her childhood and even late into her life.

References
H.D. (n.d.) Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._D.

Hi Firearris! I'm here to review like you asked.

Story-wise, I was interested to learn about this person; you've managed to include enough information to intrigue me without going on and on for pages about how she broke her left pinky toe in the second grade. Nice work.

However, I was a little worried about how you wrote this. For me, it read like a list of events, as if I were seeing it in an encyclopedia. It lacked a lot of emotion, and in that sense, I was disappointed. If you ever rewrite this, my only suggestion would be to make me feel for the person.

Sorry this is so short, but I could only find that one thing wrong with it. Please ask me if you have any questions or want another review.

-Knightley

Hi i am here as requested.

This greatly upset her and her family, especially her father, who died the next year.

I don't find a grammar error in this one but upset seems so small an emotion one would feel post someone dear's tragic death.
Maybe this sentence would do: This death came as a great shock to her and her family and especially her father who died next year.

Most of the part was filled with her childbirths. This piece is about a writer so yu should have concentrated more on her literature works.

Okay, I think its something do with adults so I will stop here now. Sorry for being such a pain. Let me know if I can help you with anything else.

Thanks, Shubi!

The assignment was to write an essay about a poet and about how their life impacted and inspired their writing, so that is the main reason I focused more on her life than her actual writing.

Thanks to you also, Knight!

I'd be only too happy to It looks an interesting piece, let's see, where to start...

Hilda Doolittle, better known as H.D., was a famous writer who mostly wrote poetry. [Perhaps introduce her as a '...famous writer, best known for her [insert adjective] poetry.' It sounds a tad more professional.] According to Wikipedia (n.d.), she wrote and published poetry from 1911 to the late 50s. Several things throughout her life influenced her poetry and encouraged her to continue writing, including her many relationships and the wars that went on during her life.

One of the many things that inspired and affected Hilda’s poetry was her sexuality. Some of her poems, ‘At Bala’ for example, seem to be about sex and bisexuality. She was engaged with to Ezra Pound for a short period of time before they called it off; which may have been due to other relationships. Around the same time of the engagement, Hilda was involved with Frances Josepha Gregg. Their relationship lasted for a year before Hilda focused more on her writing, and later in life she had a child named Frances, possibly named after Gregg.

I felt that the last sentence was a little awkwardly worded. Perhaps you need to refer to him as her previous lover or something rather than Gregg.

Several large events happened in Hilda’s life during the time of World War I. [Perhaps it would be smoother as, 'Several large events occured in Hilda's life during World War I.'] Her brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1918 while fighting in the war. This greatly upset her and her family, especially her father, who died the next year. Soon after her miscarriage, her husband also went out to fight the war, who took a mistress at the same time while Hilda got involved with Cecil Gray. [Woah. Steady on there, this seems very abrupt and matter of fact for a series of very troubling events. I think you need more introduction to a few of them or to maybe link some of the sentences so that they flow more smoothly and it doesn't feel as though the topic jumps from one event to another. You could very easily link the father's death with his son's by mentioning that it was possibly the result of the tragedy.] Soon after, she gave birth to Gray’s child, Frances. Hilda didn’t appear to write much poetry at this time.

That's interesting that she didn't write much poetry. What does that tell you about her as a poet? I'm not familiar with her works but it might suggest that she doesn't draw on tragedy for her inspiration.

Towards the end of the first world war, Hilda met Annie Winifred Ellerman, also known as Bryher. They shared several lovers and boyfriends, and stayed together until 1946. Around this time, Hilda gave birth to her daughter, Frances. [Hmm. You've mentioned the birth of this child once too often. I think you ought not to mention it in the above sentence and instead write here, '...to Gray's daughter, Frances' so that the father is known.] Later on, Bryher married Kenneth Macpherson and traveled throughout Europe with him. The couple also adopted Perdita, Hilda’s daughter. [Her second daughter I take it? Why? Much of your facts seem to brief to tell us much and it's hard to find the relevant information. What impact did this couple adopting one of her daughters have on her poetry writing? Try to recall your questions throughout.] Another main lover of Hilda’s was Ezra Pound. They remained friends and possibly even lovers after they called off the engagement.

In 1944, Hilda wrote a trilogy including “The Walls Do Not Fall” which most likely represented the upcoming Second World War. [Good. I like the use of a specific poem to illustrate a point. Maybe you could do that more often? Perhaps quote lines to back your claims up.] Only two years after she wrote that, and shortly after writing the last part of the trilogy, “The Flowering Of The Rod”, she had a mental breakdown and ended up in a clinic until the next fall. The war was the most likely cause of the breakdown. Around the time of the war, she wrote “The Gift”, which was a memoir of her family and her life, and how it inspired her writings. Later in the 50s, she wrote “End To Torment”, which was a memoir on Ezra Pound, who assisted her in becoming a successful poet.

That second to last paragraph feels more like a summary than a conclusion. Perhaps it would help if you framed your thoughts. You could start with something taken from the question like, 'Many events in Hilda's life had an impact on her writing, the most prominent perhaps being...'

Also, try to refer to the poet by her last name and avoid calling her H.D which is too colloquial for an essay like this.

Okay, so I found this interesting and it was good to learn a little about a poet I haven't encountered before but I think you could have been more cohesive. I felt as though you were listing the events of her life rather than showing which events have had an impact on her writing. Your use of mentioning the poem was quite effective, I'd suggest expanding that further and quoting lines and linking those to possible events. For example if she writes about a great loss it might be directly related to the miscarriage of her child.

You've got the key information to write this essay with, I just feel that you need to explain your points more so that your reader can follow what you're saying. Whenever you bring a point up, try to remember to support it with evidence and then to explain why it is relevant and what it shows in relation to your essay title/ question.

If you have questions, feel free to pm me!

Heather xx

Hi Arris! I'm so so so sorry for not getting to this sooner, I feel bad. =(

She was engaged with Ezra Pound

Engaged to, it should be.

In 1905, Ezra Pound gave Hilda a book made up of love poems, titled “Hilda’s Book”. Pound also helped her write her poetry and helped her get it into the public, in magazines and books. They also worked together on their own magazine, which she edited and submitted her own poems to. Ezra Pound also introduced her to several other poets and writers who she later became friends or lovers with.

See how you've used "also" in every sentence but one? Watch out for getting too repetitive, though I do understand that "also" is easy to use and fits in many places. To avoid it, you could try "in addition", "furthermore", and such things, whichever fits.

Hilda wrote a poem in 1947 titled “Helen”, which seemed to be about someone who was dead.

I don't like this. It's so vague and gives the impression that you haven't even wanted to try to understand the deeper meanings of the poem. This isn't the only place where you use the expression "seems to be". In essay, it either is or isn't, in my opinion.

Well, I'm sorry I didn't review this sooner -- you probably aren't even working on this anymore. See you around!


Demeter
x