Interpreting H. D.'s 'Oread'

Some people might believe that it is much more convenient and easier to read something that is shorter rather than a longer text. Furthermore, it is possible that they might think that a shorter text will get straight to the point and require absolutely no analysis because of the text’s brevity. However, anyone who has ever read H.D.’s poem, “Oread”, will understand that this is not the case. The poem is only twenty-six words, which means that it might take a person about ten seconds to read it. Nevertheless, analyzing it is a completely different story. The reason for this is because there are many ways one can interpret the poem. Another reason is because the reader is left with many unanswered questions at the end. For instance, “Oread”
is essentially about a nymph yelling at the sea to come together with the forest and the reader never exactly understands why this is happening. Although the poem is extremely short, it is amazing how beautifully and marvelously visual it still can be. While reading it, it is almost as if the reader is actually looking at a detailed picture of a completely different world. This is mainly because “Oread” is an imagist poem and it simply gets to the heart of the matter. Also, this obviously has a great deal to do with H.D.’s use of metaphorical language throughout the poem. One example is the way she is able to bring together the sea and the forest. Moreover, it allows the reader to understand what the oread wants. H.D. uses metaphorical language in “Oread” to illustrate the union of the sea and the forest. The poem immediately starts off by painting a picture in the reader’s head.
The oread commands, “Whirl up, sea-” (H.D. 1). The image most people see is that of an oread standing on a large rock on the shore, facing the sea and yelling at it. This is interesting because in other fictional texts, an oread is normally portrayed as cute and delicate. However, in this poem, the oread is definitely indirectly described as being strong and authoritative. At this point in the poem, the reader begins to wonder why the oread is commanding the sea to do this. This is not necessarily answered in the poem, but towards the end, the reader gets a sense as to why the oread could have wanted this to happen. At the start of the poem, there is an immediate command and it is clear that the oread does not want to waste any time. For instance, she begins her commands with verbs such as “Whirl” to make the reader understand that she is demanding something (H.D. 1). It is evident that this is why “Oread” is considered an imagist poem because from the beginning of the poem, the oread gets right to the point. In the second line, the reader is quickly able to identify the first metaphor. The oread says to the sea, “Whirl your pointed pines” (H.D. 2). Clearly, seas do not have “pointed pines” (H.D. 2). However, from this line, the reader is able to see that the oread is comparing two different things: a sea and a forest. Furthermore, she is implying that the sea has pine trees as forests do. Also,
rather than taking the time to explain how the sea is similar to a forest, the oread merely describes the sea as if it were a forest, which sticks to the imagist characteristics. At this point, the reader is now able picture a sea and a forest that are near each other. It is also extremely fascinating how vivid the image is. Moreover, H.D.’s metaphorical language proves that it is very effective in showing the reader how the sea and the forest slowly begin to come together to become one.
In the poem’s third line, the oread continues her commands. She keeps telling the sea what to do by saying, “Splash your great pines” (H.D. 3). Once again, the reader notices that the oread is beginning her commands with more verbs. At this point in the poem, the reader begins to realize that the subject matter is extremely chaotic, especially with words such as “Whirl” and “Splash” (H.D. 2-3). Additionally, these chaotic verbs definitely go together with the oread’s commands. In this part in the poem, it appears as if it is not only important but also necessary for the sea to follow the oread’s demands. These verbs also allow the reader to see the crazy movement of the water possibly beginning to come towards the forest. In this line, the oread also resumes with her figurative way of speaking. She continues saying that the sea has pines, but now, instead of the pines being whirled, she would like them to be splashed. Once again, the reader begins to question why the oread would ask this of the sea. However, instead of answering the reader’s question, the oread informs him of where she would like the whirling and splashing to occur. The oread says to the sea, “On our rocks” (H.D. 4).