Skip to content
Storgy

The Annotated Edition

THE ISLANDS by H. D.

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

Read aloud in ~4 minOpen reading mode →

H.

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

THE ISLANDS

H. D., 1921

I What are the islands to me, what is Greece, what is Rhodes, Samos, Chios, what is Paros facing west, what is Crete? What is Samothrace, rising like a ship, what is Imbros rending the storm-waves with its breast? What is Naxos, Paros, Milos, what the circle about Lycia, what, the Cyclades' white necklace? What is Greece-- Sparta, rising like a rock, Thebes, Athens, what is Corinth? What is Euboia with its island violets, what is Euboia, spread with grass, set with swift shoals, what is Crete? What are the islands to me, what is Greece? II What can love of land give to me that you have not-- what do the tall Spartans know, and gentler Attic folk? What has Sparta and her women more than this? What are the islands to me if you are lost-- what is Naxos, Tinos, Andros, and Delos, the clasp of the white necklace? III What can love of land give to me that you have not, what can love of strife break in me that you have not? Though Sparta enter Athens, Thebes wrack Sparta, each changes as water, salt, rising to wreak terror and fall back. IV "What has love of land given to you that I have not?" I have questioned Tyrians where they sat on the black ships, weighted with rich stuffs, I have asked the Greeks from the white ships, and Greeks from ships whose hulks lay on the wet sand, scarlet with great beaks. I have asked bright Tyrians and tall Greeks-- "what has love of land given you?" And they answered--"peace." V But beauty is set apart, beauty is cast by the sea, a barren rock, beauty is set about with wrecks of ships, upon our coast, death keeps the shallows--death waits clutching toward us from the deeps. Beauty is set apart; the winds that slash its beach, swirl the coarse sand upward toward the rocks. Beauty is set apart from the islands and from Greece. VI In my garden the winds have beaten the ripe lilies; in my garden, the salt has wilted the first flakes of young narcissus, and the lesser hyacinth, and the salt has crept under the leaves of the white hyacinth. In my garden even the wind-flowers lie flat, broken by the wind at last. VII What are the islands to me if you are lost, what is Paros to me if your eyes draw back, what is Milos if you take fright of beauty, terrible, torturous, isolated, a barren rock? What is Rhodes, Crete, what is Paros facing west, what, white Imbros? What are the islands to me if you hesitate, what is Greece if you draw back from the terror and cold splendour of song and its bleak sacrifice?

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

H. D. repeatedly wonders what the stunning Greek islands signify for her if the person she loves—or the reader she is speaking to—looks away. By the end, the islands and Greece symbolize beauty itself, which reveals itself to be perilous, lonely, and exacting. This poem is essentially a love poem disguised as a geography lesson: love is more significant than any scenery, yet beauty, much like love, comes with a price.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. What are the islands to me, / what is Greece,

    Editor's note

    H. D. begins with a series of rhetorical questions, naming various Greek islands. This repetition isn’t meant to confuse; rather, it’s a purposeful act of reduction. She’s questioning: without you, what significance does this renowned beauty hold for me? The answer she suggests is: none.

  2. What is Samothrace, / rising like a ship,

    Editor's note

    The islands receive striking, concise descriptions — Samothrace resembles a ship, Imbros cleaves through storm-waves like a warrior. These vivid images bring the islands to life, emphasizing the question: even these breathtaking spots seem empty without the person she's speaking to.

  3. What is Naxos, Paros, Milos, / what the circle about Lycia,

    Editor's note

    The Cyclades are called a 'white necklace,' a piece of jewelry draped by the sea. It's a lovely image, but H. D. quickly challenges it with another question. The beauty is genuine, but it alone doesn't suffice.

  4. What is Greece-- / Sparta, rising like a rock,

    Editor's note

    H. D. transitions from islands to cities — Sparta, Thebes, Athens, and Corinth. These names embody the essence of Greek civilization, rich with history and significance. By listing them only to follow with a question mark, she makes a bold statement: personal love takes precedence over cultural accolades.

  5. What is Euboia / with its island violets,

    Editor's note

    Euboia delivers the richest sensory details to date — violets, grass, and swift shoals. The tenderness in these lines transforms the final repeated question ('what is Crete?') into a moment of grief rather than debate. The more stunning the place, the sharper the sting of loss.

  6. What are the islands to me, / what is Greece?

    Editor's note

    The closing couplet of Section I is an exact reflection of the opening. This circular structure keeps the reader trapped in the same unresolved question. H. D. isn't aiming for a resolution; she's emphasizing the question itself.

  7. What can love of land give to me / that you have not--

    Editor's note

    Section II shifts focus from the landscape to the direct relationship. H. D. compares the offerings of a place with those of a person. The Spartans and the 'gentler Attic folk' symbolize different human ideals, but neither surpasses what she shares with the person she's speaking to.

  8. What are the islands to me / if you are lost--

    Editor's note

    The conditional phrase 'if you are lost' brings in genuine stakes. This isn't merely a philosophical idea — there's a real risk of loss involved. Delos, referred to as 'the clasp of the white necklace,' is the most valuable island, but it holds no significance without this person.

  9. What can love of land give to me / that you have not,

    Editor's note

    Section III revisits the question posed in Section II, but this time it introduces the phrase 'love of strife.' H. D. is now inquiring about the conflicts, ambitions, or wars that could challenge her, considering everything this relationship has already put to the test. Here, the political and personal aspects are being balanced against each other.

  10. Though Sparta enter Athens, / Thebes wrack Sparta,

    Editor's note

    The significant military conflicts of ancient Greece can be summarized in just two lines. H. D. likens them to water—salt water surging in fear and then receding. Empires and wars come and go in cycles. This suggests that love, or beauty, is the one thing that remains constant, not subject to the same rise and fall.

  11. "What has love of land given to you / that I have not?"

    Editor's note

    Section IV marks a dramatic shift: the voice changes. The speaker now addresses Tyrian and Greek sailors directly, asking what their homelands have provided them. The sailors' response — 'peace' — is both simple and devastating. It's the one thing that beauty and love, as H. D. presents them, cannot ensure.

  12. But beauty is set apart, / beauty is cast by the sea,

    Editor's note

    Section V is the philosophical heart of the poem. Beauty isn’t safe or comfortable—it’s a stark rock surrounded by shipwrecks, with death lurking in both the shallows and the depths. H. D. is reshaping beauty into something perilous and remote, not something pleasant but rather something frightening.

  13. In my garden / the winds have beaten

    Editor's note

    Section VI shifts from the abstract to the personal. The garden — lilies, narcissus, hyacinth — is suffering from the salt wind. These flowers all carry mythological significance in Greek tradition. The garden serves as both a physical space and a representation of tender, cultivated things being eroded by harsh realities.

  14. What are the islands to me / if you are lost,

    Editor's note

    Section VII ties everything together. The islands are clearly connected to beauty, which is portrayed as 'terrible, torturous, isolated, a barren rock' — reflecting Section V. The closing lines emphasize the stakes: the individual being addressed must not shy away from 'the terror and cold splendour of song and its bleak sacrifice.' H. D. is questioning whether this person can cope with the true demands of beauty and art.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is both incantatory and urgent — H. D. repeats her questions as if she’s grappling with grief or trying to reassure herself. Beneath it all lies a sense of sorrow and genuine tenderness, yet there's also a certain severity. By the end, the poem takes on a confrontational stance: beauty isn't simply celebrated, it’s demanded from the reader. The overall impression is one of passionate intensity, devoid of sentimentality, like someone who loves deeply but won’t sugarcoat the challenges that come with it.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The Greek islands
The islands symbolize beauty, cultural heritage, and some of the most celebrated landscapes in the world. H. D. uses them to compare the offerings of the external world with the gifts of personal love—and ultimately finds the islands lacking without the presence of the beloved.
The white necklace / Cyclades
The image of the Cyclades as a white necklace transforms the chain of islands into something wearable, decorative, and personal. It creates a sense of intimacy with the geography — and then H. D. questions whether this jewel holds any value if the beloved is no longer there.
The barren rock
Beauty is depicted as a desolate rock encircled by shipwrecks. This imagery challenges the notion of beauty as something pleasant or safe. Instead, it feels isolated, perilous, and expensive — more like a risk than a treasure.
The garden flowers (lilies, narcissus, hyacinth)
The flowers in Section VI connect to Greek mythology, representing youth, beauty, and death. Their destruction by salt wind illustrates that even well-cared-for beauty can't escape the brutal realities of the world.
Salt / the sea
Salt acts as both a destructive force, wilting flowers and creeping under leaves, and a metaphor for the rise and fall of empires. It links the natural world to the political realm, conveying the idea that nothing beautiful or powerful endures without a price.
The Tyrian and Greek ships
The ships symbolize various civilizations and their connection to their homelands. The sailors' response — "peace" — uncovers what a deep love for one's land truly brings: a sense of stability and rest that beauty and passionate love simply can't provide.

§06Historical context

Historical context

H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) was a key player in the Imagist movement, which valued vivid imagery, exact language, and a departure from Victorian sentimentality. She wrote "The Islands" in the early 1920s, inspired by her profound interest in ancient Greek culture, which she studied thoroughly and revisited throughout her life. H. D. spent many years in Europe, especially in London and later in Switzerland, and her connection to Greece was always more about literature and spirituality than personal history — she never actually lived there. The poem also delves into her complex personal life, reflecting intense relationships with both men and women. The "you" in the poem can be interpreted as a lover, the reader, or an ideal audience for art. H. D.'s Imagist background shines through in the specific island names and sensory details, while the poem's format — seven sections of repeated questions — echoes ancient Greek lyric poetry, especially Sappho, whom H. D. translated and greatly admired.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

The poem never explicitly identifies the 'you,' and that's intentional. Many readers interpret it as a beloved — someone H. D. deeply cares for and fears losing. However, by Section VII, the 'you' begins to resemble the reader or anyone who might shy away from beauty and art. H. D. keeps it ambiguous, allowing the poem to resonate on multiple levels simultaneously.

Read next

Poems in the same key

Similar poems

ODE ON A GRECIAN URN. — John KeatsDover Beach — Matthew ArnoldThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock — T. S. EliotIn a Station of the Metro — Ezra Pound

More by H. D.

Browse all H. D. poems →

Themes in this poem

Poems about beautyPoems about identityPoems about lovePoems about mortality