Analysis of Helen by H.D.

Helen

 by H.D.

All Greece hates
 the still eyes in the white face, 
the lustre as of olives
 where she stands,
 and the white hands.

 All Greece reviles 
the wan face when she smiles,
 hating it deeper still 
when it grows wan and white,
 remembering past enchantments
 and past ills. 

Greece sees, unmoved, 
God’s daughter, born of love, 
the beauty of cool feet
 and slenderest knees,
could love indeed the maid, 
only if she were laid, 
white ash amid funereal cypresses.

The title takes it's appellation from the mythological character Helen of Troy.  Popular myth accorded her the title of the most beautiful woman in the world.  Eris, the goddess of discord threw an apple into a wedding feast that was to be given to the prettiest of the goddesses. After some squabbling Paris of Troy was chosen to judge between the beauty of Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena.  Paris, choosing Aphrodite was awarded with the hand of Helen.  Helen and Paris eloped together to Troy where they stayed until the Trojan war began.  

 The siege of Troy was long and regaled in myth for it's many events.  Its contextual information provides us with an understanding of why Greece would despise Helen so much.  Which is related in the first line of the poem. 

 All Greece hates

The poem begins with Greece's animosity towards Helen.  Here everyone in Greece is included in the phrase.  The poem will constantly return to the idea of Greece's hatred.

  the still eyes in the white face,

 The second line begins with a description of Helen, as though drawn from statuary.  Her face white, and eyes still.  Where most would admire her beauty, Greece hates it.  

 the lustre as of olives

 Lustre here means light.  Olives are traditionally associated with Greece and held great importance in their ancient culture.  The line may herald olives as though they were laurels of glory for the Greeks.  Indeed one may think of Helen as the prize fruit of their society.

and the white hands

This line is a simple and pure appreciation of Helen's hands.  The stanza has a simple rhyme scheme of AABCC.  The poem doesn't use exact rhyme for every line, creating a little assymetrical adds to it's beauty.  

All Greece reviles

Here again we return to Greece's hatred of Helen. The poem drives a unity between the hatred of the Greeks and the beauty of one of their own who betrayed them. Reminders of Greek hatred will follow every mention of her beauty. 

   

 the wan face when she smiles,

 Wan here means pale but in a delicate and beautiful way.  The nature of her smile is left ambiguous.  We don't know if it's an ingenue's smile, a coquettish smile, one of shame or any other. 

Hating it deeper still,  

As she grows more beautiful Greece's hatred for her deepens.  The ugliness of the Greeks is kept corollary and in contrast to Helen's beauty.

when it grows wan and white,

Here the line continues the alternation between hatred and beauty, keeping them in perfect contrast.  Greece seems like a spurned lover, who's jealous possessiveness is in perfect ratio to Helen's beauty. The line has a perfect rhythm along with alliteration in wan and white.

remembering past enchantments,

Here the Greeks cleverness is driven into wariness by remembrance of their past infatuation with Helen.

and past ills.   

The closing line makes use of repetition of the word past to emphasize the subtlety of the wariness and humiliation the Greeks received.  The Rhyme Scheme for this stanza is AABCDB.  Again the last rhyme is a close rhyme adding to it's aesthetics.

Greece sees, unmoved,

The next stanza begins with the obstinancy of the Greek opposition. The rhyme scheme here will be ABCDEEE.  The repetition of rhyme in the last three lines will add emphasis to the sentiments conveyed within them.

 

God’s daughter, born of love,

Here the Greeks are shown to suffer from the error of Hubris, that is opposing the will of the gods.  Remember that Helen's elopement was instigated at divine will.  

the beauty of cool feet

Here again the narrative lauds her statuesque qualities.  

 and slenderest knees,

 The poem is careful never to become over sensuous concerning her beauty.  It's depictions use the words white, wan, cool, and slenderest.  Helen's purity is kept despite the apparent loss of purity at what would be her actions.  This is in contrast to the purity of the hatred of the Greeks.  If there's a power differential between Helen and the Greeks it's in Helen's favor as the Greeks constantly find themselves the ones being moved to action by Helen's utter stillness as depicted in the poem.  

could love indeed the maid, 

The pentultimate lines of the poem concern the ability of the Greeks to actually love and accept the idea of Helen. This of course only means the satiation of their hatred.

only if she were laid, 

Here their hatred finds it's surcease under certain conditions.  Again the poem builds up to the finesse and subtlety of her beauty.  Where she held the appearance of a perfect statue of beauty, the following lines intimate that she would still be fine and pure after her funerary rites.

white ash amid funereal cypresses.

Here the funeral cypresses represent the wood used to fuel a pyre.  Greece's emotional polarization still revolves around the purity of Helen.  But only if she were pure white ash.  Here the first adjective white used to describe her beauty is reiterated but in a different context.  The love that should be accorded to her because of the purity of her beauty, would be accorded only in the purity of her funerary ashes.