Repositioning the Representation of Femininity in H.D.'s "The Garden"

Abstract

Hilda Doolittle, an American poet, playwright, and novelist known by the initials H.D., was one of the few female figures of the male-dominated early modernist era. Her early works are of crucial importance as they are associated with Imagism, the literary movement shaped by Ezra Pound as a reaction to the wordiness, indirectness, and sentimentality of Victorian and Romantic poetry. H.D. played an important role in Imagism. Ezra Pound, who suggested that Hilda Doolittle append the signature “H.D., Imagiste” to her works, introduced her as the leader of Imagism. Her first poetry collection, Sea Garden (1916), which includes twenty-seven poems, is a paragon of Imagist poetry. The poems were composed in free verse without thematic boundaries and with the use of harsh and impersonal style and diction, natural imagery, a melodious rhythm, and economical word choice. However, H.D.’s “The Garden,” an image-focused poem from this collection, goes far beyond Imagism. It is not simply a nature poem; the narrator glorifies fierce natural objects such as hard roses, rigorous winds, and thick air to represent women’s potential strength, resilience, and productivity. It also subverts the stereotypical representation of femininity and female vulnerability by displacing dominant patriarchal myths. The poem is brimming with encoded images that metaphorically reconstruct female imagery and representation. This paper investigates how “The Garden” unfolds hidden and disregarded concepts of femininity to reposition the female figure in the ideal imaginary “Garden” by saving her from the confinement of the man-made “Garden” in order to suggest a new representation of femininity, mirroring Pound’s call to “Make It New!”

Keywords

• Hilda Doolittle (H.D.)
• Imagism
• representation of femininity
• female vulnerability
• "The Garden"

H.D.'nin "Bahçe" adlı Şiirinde Kadınlık Temsilinin Yeniden Konumlandırılması

Abstract

İsminin baş harfleri olan H.D. olarak bilinen Amerikalı şair, oyun yazarı ve romancı Hilda Doolittle, erken modernist dönemin erkek egemen dünyasındaki birkaç kadın figürden biri olarak karşımıza çıkar. İlk yapıtları, Viktoryen ve Romantik şiirin sözlük çokluğu, dolaylılık ve duygusallığına tepki olarak ortaya çıkan ve Ezra Pound ile şekillenmiş olan İmgecilik akımı ile ilgisi açısından büyük önem taşımaktadır. H.D., İmgecilik akımında önemli bir role sahiptir ve yazdığı şiirleri “H.D., Imagiste” kısaltmasıyla imzalamasını isteyen Ezra Pound, onu bu akımın lideri olarak ilan eder. 1916’da yayınlanan ve yirmi yedi şiirden oluşan ilk şiir kitabı Sea Garden, İmagist şiire örnek teşkil eder. Bu şiirler, tema kısıtlaması olmaksızın, serbest ölçü ve sert ve kişisel olmayan bir biçem ve söyleyiş ile ve aynı zamanda da doğa imgeleri, ahenkli bir ritim ve hesaplı sözcükler kullanılarak yazılmıştır. Ancak, H.D.’nın bu seçkideki “Bahçe” adlı imge odaklı şiiri, İmgecilik akımının ötesine gider. Basit bir doğa şiiri olmayan bu şiirde anlatıcı, baskın ataerkil mitleri devirmek ve basmakalıp kadınlık temsili ve kadın kırılganlığını yıkmak için, sert güller, vahşi doğa objeleri ve ağır hava imgelerini kullanır ve kadının güç, dayanıklılık ve üretkenlik potansiyelini yüceltir. Bu şiir, kadın imgesi ve temsilinin mecazi olarak yeniden inşa edildiği çeşitli kodlanmış imgelerle doludur. Bu makale, H.D.’nin “Bahçe” adlı şiirinin, kadını erkek-yapımı mahkumiyet bölgesi olarak tartışılan “Bahçe”den kurtararak, hayal edilen ideal “Bahçe”de yeniden konumlandırmak için, kadınlığın gizli ve göz ardı edilmiş kavramlarını nasıl açığa çıkardığını incelemektedir. Ayrıca bu şiir, yeni bir kadınlık temsili kavramını ortaya atarak Pound’un “Yenile” adlı özdeyişini de yansıtmaktadır.

Keywords

• Hilda Doolittle (H.D.)
• "Bahçe"
• imgecilik
• kadın kırılganlığı
• kadınlık temsili

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