About the poet
Hilda Doolittle, known as H.D., was an American poet, novelist, and memoirist linked to the early 20th-century Imagist movement. Her writing frequently delves into themes like gender, identity, mythology, and spirituality. Drawing significant inspiration from Greek mythology, she used it to reflect on modern issues.
The poem Eurydice was first published in the 1917 edition of the anthology Some Imagist Poets. In her poem Eurydice, the narrative relies on literary devices such as allusion and apostrophe to retell the myth of Eurydice. The speaker, Eurydice herself, holds Orpheus and his pride responsible for her suffering and loss. The poem Eurydice by H.D. is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. According to the myth, Orpheus, a legendary musician, could charm even the gods with his music. On their wedding day, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Determined to bring her back, Orpheus journeyed to the underworld, where he played his music for Hades and Persephone. Moved by his talent, they allowed him to lead Eurydice back to the world of the living on one condition: he must walk ahead of her and not look back until they had both left the underworld. Tragically, Orpheus, overcome with eagerness, turned to look at Eurydice just before she reached the surface. As a result, her life was forfeited, and she was lost to the underworld forever.
Line by Line Analysis
I So you have swept me back, I who could have walked with the live souls above the earth, I who could have slept among the live flowers at last; so for your arrogance and your ruthlessness I am swept back where dead lichens drip dead cinders upon moss of ash; so for your arrogance I am broken at last, I who had lived unconscious, who was almost forgot; if you had let me wait I had grown from listlessness into peace, if you had let me rest with the dead, I had forgot you and the past.
In these lines from Eurydice, H.D. expresses Eurydice’s bitterness and resentment toward Orpheus for his failure to free her from the underworld. Eurydice laments what could have been—walking among the living and resting among the beauty of nature—but instead, she is “swept back” into the desolation of death. The imagery of “dead lichens,” “dead cinders,” and “moss of ash” evokes a lifeless, barren underworld, emphasizing her despair and sense of betrayal. The repetition of “I who could have” underscores her sense of loss, while the words “arrogance” and “ruthlessness” highlight her anger at Orpheus for his fatal mistake.
Eurydice confronts Orpheus, accusing him of selfishness and highlighting the unintended cruelty of his actions. She describes how his “arrogance” has disrupted her transition into death, shattering her sense of detachment and acceptance. Before Orpheus’s arrival, she had been “unconscious” and on the verge of forgetting both him and her earthly life. Eurydice suggests that had Orpheus left her in peace, she would have moved from “listlessness” into a state of calm resignation, fully at rest with the dead. However, his attempt to reclaim her has reignited her memories and the pain of the past, making her loss all the more unbearable.
II Here only flame upon flame and black among the red sparks, streaks of black and light grown colourless; why did you turn back, that hell should be reinhabited of myself thus swept into nothingness? why did you glance back? why did you hesitate for that moment? why did you bend your face caught with the flame of the upper earth, above my face? what was it that crossed my face with the light from yours and your glance? what was it you saw in my face? the light of your own face, the fire of your own presence? What had my face to offer but reflex of the earth, hyacinth colour caught from the raw fissure in the rock where the light struck, and the colour of azure crocuses and the bright surface of gold crocuses and of the wind-flower, swift in its veins as lightning and as white.
Eurydice vividly describes the torment of her existence in the underworld, a place consumed by “flame upon flame” and “black among the red sparks.” The imagery of fire and shadow creates a hellish, desolate atmosphere, emphasizing her suffering. The colors “grown colourless” suggest a loss of vitality and hope, further underscoring her despair. Eurydice asks Orpheus why he turned back, causing her to return to the pain of the underworld. His mistake has brought her back to a state of emptiness and loneliness. In these lines, she shows her sadness and frustration at being forced into this suffering again. She feels like she has no control over her fate, and this highlights her sense of loss and desire for independence.
Eurydice questions Orpheus’s fatal mistake of looking back. She wonders why he hesitated and turned his gaze toward her, drawn by the “flame of the upper earth,” a symbol of life and longing. She reflects on the brief connection between them—his glance and the light that momentarily touched her face. Eurydice questions whether Orpheus truly saw her or if he was captivated by his own reflection, the “light of [his] own face” or the “fire of [his] own presence.” These lines suggest that his actions were driven more by his own desires and ego than by genuine concern for her, deepening her sense of betrayal and highlighting the theme of selfish love. Eurydice wonders what her face could have shown Orpheus, thinking it only reflected the beauty of the earth. She describes the colors of flowers, like hyacinths and crocuses, which are bright and delicate, symbolizing the shortness of life. The wind-flower, with its quick, white beauty, shows how fragile her connection to the living world was. Eurydice feels that Orpheus may have been more drawn to the beauty of nature than to her as a person, deepening her sense of being overlooked and forgotten.
III Saffron from the fringe of the earth, wild saffron that has bent over the sharp edge of earth, all the flowers that cut through the earth, all, all the flowers are lost; everything is lost, everything is crossed with black, black upon black and worse than black, this colourless light.
Eurydice describes the loss of beauty and life, symbolized by “wild saffron” and flowers that once grew from the earth. She says that all the flowers are now “lost,” suggesting that everything beautiful or alive has been taken away. The repetition of “everything is lost” emphasizes her despair. The imagery of “black upon black” and “colourless light” expresses a world that has become dark and empty, where hope or life no longer exists. The words reflect a sense of hopelessness, as if all color and vibrancy have been drained from her surroundings, leaving only emptiness and sorrow.
IV Fringe upon fringe of blue crocuses, crocuses, walled against blue of themselves, blue of that upper earth, blue of the depth upon depth of flowers, lost; flowers, if I could have taken once my breath of them, enough of them, more than earth, even than of the upper earth, had passed with me beneath the earth; if I could have caught up from the earth, the whole of the flowers of the earth, if once I could have breathed into myself the very golden crocuses and the red, and the very golden hearts of the first saffron, the whole of the golden mass, the whole of the great fragrance, I could have dared the loss.
Eurydice reflects on the beauty of the flowers, especially the crocuses, which symbolize the vibrancy and life of the earth. She imagines what it would have been like to fully experience their beauty, to breathe in the scent of the golden crocuses and the red flowers, feeling the earth’s life coursing through her. These flowers represent a connection to the living world that she longs for but can no longer have.
Eurydice believes that if she had been able to fully take in the earth’s beauty, to “breathe into [herself] the whole of the flowers,” she might have been able to accept her loss. The flowers’ fragrance and beauty, she feels, would have given her the strength to face her separation from Orpheus. But instead, she is left with the sorrow of what she can no longer touch or experience.
V So for your arrogance and your ruthlessness I have lost the earth and the flowers of the earth, and the live souls above the earth, and you who passed across the light and reached ruthless; you who have your own light, who are to yourself a presence, who need no presence; yet for all your arrogance and your glance, I tell you this: such loss is no loss, such terror, such coils and strands and pitfalls of blackness, such terror is no loss; hell is no worse than your earth above the earth, hell is no worse, no, nor your flowers nor your veins of light nor your presence, a loss; my hell is no worse than yours though you pass among the flowers and speak with the spirits above earth.
Eurydice directly blames Orpheus for her profound loss. She accuses him of “arrogance” and “ruthlessness” for turning back and condemning her to the underworld. Because of his actions, she feels she has lost everything: the earth, the flowers, the living souls, and even him. She points out that Orpheus has his own “light,” meaning he possesses his own inner strength and presence, unlike her. He no longer needs anyone else to define him, while she has been left behind in darkness, unable to reach him. These lines highlight her sense of isolation and abandonment, as she contrasts his self-sufficiency with her helplessness.
Eurydice responds to Orpheus’s actions with a strong statement: despite the pain and loss she feels, she declares that the torment she now faces in the underworld is no worse than the suffering on earth. The “terror” and “blackness” of the underworld, with its “coils and strands and pitfalls,” are not more dreadful than the world Orpheus inhabits. Eurydice also compares the earth and its beauty—flowers, light, and Orpheus’s presence—with her own suffering, claiming that none of it truly matters in the face of the loss she has endured. Her hell, she argues, is no worse than Orpheus’s life on earth, even if he moves among the living and communicates with spirits. This passage emphasizes Eurydice’s sense of resignation and detachment, asserting that her suffering in the underworld is as valid and significant as the beauty Orpheus experiences above.
VI Against the black I have more fervour than you in all the splendour of that place, against the blackness and the stark grey I have more light; and the flowers, if I should tell you, you would turn from your own fit paths toward hell, turn again and glance back and I would sink into a place even more terrible than this.
Eurydice claims that despite the darkness and bleakness of the underworld, she possesses more inner strength and “fervour” than Orpheus does in all the beauty and splendor of the living world. She suggests that her light, born from her suffering, is more powerful than anything Orpheus could experience above. Eurydice warns that if she were to reveal the truth about the flowers—likely symbolizing a deeper, hidden beauty—Orpheus would be tempted to turn back toward her, abandoning his path and causing her to sink into even greater suffering. She recognizes the destructive power of his love and the danger of him looking back, knowing that doing so would only bring more pain and a worse fate for both of them.
VII At least I have the flowers of myself, and my thoughts, no god can take that; I have the fervour of myself for a presence and my own spirit for light; and my spirit with its loss knows this; though small against the black, small against the formless rocks, hell must break before I am lost; before I am lost, hell must open like a red rose for the dead to pass.
In these lines, Eurydice finds a sense of strength and identity within herself. Despite the darkness and suffering of the underworld, she holds onto her own spirit, thoughts, and “fervour”—things no god can take from her. She recognizes that, although small against the vast blackness and “formless rocks” of the underworld, she will not be lost unless hell itself breaks apart. Eurydice expresses a defiant belief that before she is truly lost, hell would have to open “like a red rose” to allow the dead to pass. This metaphor of a rose suggests that even in death, there is still the potential for beauty and transformation. Her spirit and strength remain intact, emphasizing her resilience and her refusal to be completely consumed by the darkness around her.