Helen in Egypt, Eidolon, Book III: 4
Hilda Doolittle 1886 (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) – 1961 (Zurich)
Helen herself seems almost ready for this sacrifice-at least, for the immolation of herself before this greatest love of Achilles, his dedication to 'his own ship' and the figurehead, 'an idol or eidolon . . . a mermaid, Thetis upon the prow.'
Did her eyes slant in the old way?
was she Greek or Egyptian?
had some Phoenician sailor wrought her?
was she oak-wood or cedar?
had she been cut from an awkward block
of ship-wood at the ship-builders,
and afterwards riveted there,
or had the prow itself been shaped
to her mermaid body,
curved to her mermaid hair?
was there a dash of paint
in the beginning, in the garment-fold,
did the blue afterwards wear away?
did they re-touch her arms, her shoulders?
did anyone touch her ever?
Had she other zealot and lover,
or did he alone worship her?
did she wear a girdle of sea-weed
or a painted crown? how often
did her high breasts meet the spray,
how often dive down?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 74 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | X ABC CXD EXX EXX ADC CCX BAX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 901 |
Words | 165 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
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"Helen in Egypt, Eidolon, Book III: 4" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/19270/helen-in-egypt,-eidolon,-book-iii:-4>.
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