CITIES by H. D.: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
H.
H. D.'s "Cities" is a vivid poem that contrasts the raw energy of nature with the oppressive nature of urban life. The speaker laments what cities stifle in human existence — the instinctual, the untamed, the beautiful — and questions whether anything meaningful can endure behind stone walls. It feels like a subtle yet passionate defense of the soul over the concrete.
Tone & mood
The tone blends sorrow with a sharp accusation — there's a sense of grief, but also a chilling anger. H. D. employs the focused intensity characteristic of Imagism: every word counts, avoiding sentimentality and delivering clear images that strike like small stones. The predominant emotion is one of loss that has turned into a harsh critique.
Symbols & metaphors
- The moon — The moon embodies the natural, glowing world that lies beyond our control. Within H. D.'s Imagist framework, it serves as a symbol of feminine strength and the kind of beauty that urban environments often overlook.
- Wind — Wind represents freedom, instinct, and the uncontrollable forces of nature. Letting go of the wind means sacrificing spontaneity and wildness for the structured pace of urban living.
- Stone / walls — Stone is the backbone of civilization—strong, unyielding, and shaped by human hands. As a symbol, it represents both lasting endurance and confinement. The walls that cities construct also serve to enclose the human spirit.
- The city itself — The city represents the trade-off of modern life: we get order and shelter, but at the expense of vitality and beauty. It's more than just a location; it's a way of existing — disconnected from the natural world.
Historical context
H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) wrote "Cities" at the peak of the Imagist movement, which she co-founded with Ezra Pound and Richard Aldington in the early 1910s. Imagism moved away from the ornate and lengthy poetry of the Victorian era, favoring instead sharp, clear images and concise language. While living in London, H. D. experienced rapid urbanization and the devastating upheaval of World War One, both of which heightened her awareness that modern civilization was eroding something vital in human life. Her Greek-influenced perspective made her particularly sensitive to the contrast between the ancient natural world and the industrial city. "Cities" embodies that tension, employing the stripped-down Imagist style to present a case that feels almost mythic in its breadth.
FAQ
The poem suggests that urban civilization has made humanity give up the natural world — wind, moonlight, and open space — in exchange for stone walls and streets. H. D. sees this as a significant loss, rather than a step forward.
Imagism was an early 20th-century poetry movement that valued clear, vivid images instead of abstract moral lessons. In 'Cities,' H. D. doesn’t preach to you about nature being good and cities being bad — she simply contrasts the moon with the stone wall and allows you to sense the difference.
The 'we' refers to all of modern humanity — everyone who has chosen or been compelled to live in cities. H. D. doesn't exempt herself; the speaker is included in this collective, which adds an authentic layer to the grief.
It critiques cities, but more accurately, it's a poem about *loss* — the particular elements that vanish when human life becomes fully urbanized. H. D. is expressing sorrow, not merely voicing complaints.
The moon represents everything bright, untamed, and beyond human control for H. D. It also has a distinctly feminine aspect in her writing, as the moon goddess Artemis/Diana frequently appears in her work. To take the moon from the sky is to strip away that entire layer of existence.
H. D. was writing in London during a time when the war was transforming European civilization. The poem conveys the feeling that something irreplaceable has been lost, reflecting the wider cultural trauma of those war years, even though it doesn't mention combat explicitly.
That compression showcases the Imagist method at work. Short lines make every word count. This sparseness also supports the poem's argument—bare language reflects a world lacking in natural richness.
It captures the emotional intensity of a protest, yet it functions more like a lament. H. D. isn't advocating for a revolution or a march; instead, she's highlighting what has been lost and prompting us to consider if we even recognize it.