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The Annotated Edition

EVADNE by H. D.

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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In this poem, Evadne reflects on the love she shared with Apollo, the Greek god of light.

Poet
H. D.
Era
Modernist (1921)
Themes
identity, love, memory
The PoemFull text

EVADNE

H. D., 1921

I first tasted under Apollo's lips love and love sweetness, I Evadne; my hair is made of crisp violets or hyacinth which the wind combs back across some rock shelf; I Evadne was mate of the god of light. His hair was crisp to my mouth as the flower of the crocus, across my cheek, cool as the silver cress on Erotos bank; between my chin and throat his mouth slipped over and over. Still between my arm and shoulder, I feel the brush of his hair, and my hands keep the gold they took as they wandered over and over that great arm-full of yellow flowers.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

In this poem, Evadne reflects on the love she shared with Apollo, the Greek god of light. She vividly recalls the physical sensations from that encounter — his hair, his mouth, his warmth — as if they are still coursing through her body at this moment. This poem captures how a single, profound experience of love can linger in our senses long after it has ended.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. I first tasted under Apollo's lips / love and love sweetness,

    Editor's note

    Evadne introduces herself and quickly gets to the point: her romantic experience with Apollo. The choice of the word "tasted" is intentional—love is portrayed as something physical, sensory, and almost edible. She mentions her name twice in this stanza, creating a sense of ritual self-declaration reminiscent of ancient hymns. By the end of the stanza, she fully defines herself through this relationship: she was the "mate of the god of light."

  2. His hair was crisp to my mouth / as the flower of the crocus,

    Editor's note

    The second stanza delves deeply into the body. Each image conveys a texture or temperature: crisp hair like a crocus flower, cool silver cress on a riverbank, his mouth gliding along her chin and throat. H.D. weaves plant imagery onto the god's body, grounding him in the natural world instead of portraying him as a remote divine being. The phrase "over and over" emerges here for the first time, creating a slow, looping, almost trance-like rhythm in the stanza.

  3. Still between my arm and shoulder, / I feel the brush of his hair,

    Editor's note

    The final stanza changes tense with just one word: "Still." Everything that came before was a memory; now the feeling is immediate and continuous. Her hands "keep the gold they took" — they continue to hold the warmth and color of Apollo's body, portrayed as a handful of yellow flowers. The poem concludes not with loss but with a sense of lasting possession. The experience has become part of her, woven into her very being and won't fade away.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone feels intimate, unhurried, and quietly ecstatic. There’s no drama, conflict, or grief—just a woman gently turning a memory over in her hands like it’s something precious. H.D. maintains a steady, almost ceremonial voice that amplifies the sensory details. The phrase "over and over" and the gradual buildup of textures create a meditative, nearly hypnotic quality throughout the poem.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Apollo's hair / yellow flowers
Apollo's hair is first described as crisp like a crocus and later as "that great arm-full of yellow flowers." The god's body blends seamlessly into the natural world. This connection to his domain — sunlight, gold, radiance — is clear, even though H.D. never explicitly states it.
Violets and hyacinth (Evadne's hair)
Evadne refers to her hair as being like violets or hyacinths. Both flowers carry significant mythological meanings in Greek culture—hyacinth in particular is associated with Apollo. By describing her hair in floral terms, H.D. elevates both lovers to the same level: they are equally connected to nature, equally beautiful, and equally fundamental.
The hands
In the final stanza, Evadne's hands "keep the gold they took." Here, hands represent memory—they hold onto what the mind might forget. This image implies that the body can preserve experiences more reliably than our thoughts or words.
Silver cress on Erotos bank
"Erotos" translates to "of Eros," referring to the bank of a river named after desire itself. The cool, silver cress that grows there adds a sense of freshness and natural ease to the erotic encounter, rather than evoking feelings of transgression or danger.

§06Historical context

Historical context

H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) published this poem in the early twentieth century as part of the Imagist movement, which she helped shape along with Ezra Pound and Richard Aldington. Imagism turned away from the ornate sentiment of the Victorian era, opting instead for sharp, vivid images and free verse. H.D. had a particular interest in Greek myth as a lens for exploring female desire and subjectivity—topics that mainstream poetry of her time often overlooked from a woman's viewpoint. Evadne, a character from Greek mythology, was loved by Apollo and had a son named Iamos. H.D. reimagines her story, giving Evadne her own voice and body, transforming a mere footnote in myth into a first-person lyric filled with erotic memory. The poem was included in her 1917 collection *Sea Garden*.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

Evadne, a mortal woman from Greek mythology, captured the affection of Apollo and became the mother of Iamos, a renowned seer. She is mentioned in Pindar's *Sixth Olympian Ode*. H.D. reinterprets this character, leaving out the narrative of her son and centering solely on her passionate encounter with the god.

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Themes in this poem

Poems about identityPoems about lovePoems about memoryPoems about nature