H.D. and Stein

H.D. and Gertrude Stein has similar backgrounds in life and when it came to writing their poetry. Both women were born in Pennsylvania, shared the same relationship values in partners, and were friends during their lifetimes. Although H.D. was considered an imagist poet and Stein was not. They both worked with psychologists to reveal their thoughts of the unconscious mind.

Both these poets had similar lifestyles. H.D. was not initially involved with women, but as she grew and lost loved ones to others she soon found love with Winifred Ellerman. The two continued their futures together in a relationship. Stein also had a lifelong romance with Alice B. Toklas. Unlike H.D., Stein only had this one romance and was not hurt from past lovers.

These two poets both wrote of the war. H.D. did not endure the war like Stein did, but she wrote of it in her poem “Helen in Egypt.” H.D.’s poems had a strong feminist background, and embodied the idea of strong females. Stein’s poetry made use of literary devises and words. She often repeated words throughout her poetry form open-ended poems.