Song by Hilda Doolittle (1912)
The poem explores the speaker's emotional state, describing a sense of disconnection and longing. The song referred to is likely a metaphor for the elusive nature of happiness and fulfillment. The speaker's emotions are in turmoil, with feelings of sadness and despair dominating their thoughts. The poem suggests that the speaker is searching for a way to transcend their current state, but is unsure how to do so.
By Hilda Doolittle · First published 1912 · Genre: Poetry, Imagism, Lyric · 135 words
First lines
You are as gold as the half-ripe grain that merges to gold again, as white as the white rain that beats through the half-opened flowers of the great flower tufts thick on the black limbs of an Illyrian apple bough.
Can honey distill such fragrance as your bright hair -- for your face is as fair as rain, yet as rain that lies clear on white honey-comb, lends radiance to the white wax, so your hair on your brow casts light for a shadow.
What this Textopian page supports
Song is listed on Textopian as a poem by Hilda Doolittle, dated 1912 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Hilda Doolittle
- Date: 1912 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Imagism, Lyric
- Length: 135 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Song by Hilda Doolittle
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Song?
- How does this poem by Hilda Doolittle fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
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Similar titles
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- An After Song by William Carlos Williams
- Moods by John Gould Fletcher
- Why Have You Sought by Hilda Doolittle
- Mutability by John Gould Fletcher
- Not Honey by Hilda Doolittle
Genres
- Poetry — The work is structured in verse form, utilizing imagery and metaphor typical of poetry.
- Imagism — The poem employs vivid imagery and precise language, characteristic of the Imagist movement.
- Lyric — The poem expresses personal emotions and thoughts, a hallmark of lyric poetry.
Tags
Poetry · Modernism · Symbolism · Imagery · Nature · Mythology · Femininity · Identity · Self-discovery · Stream-of-consciousness · Free Verse · Experimentation