Advisory Committee Chair
Kieran P Quinlan
Advisory Committee Members
Daniel Siegel
Jessica Dallow
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2010
Degree Name by School
Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
The focus of this thesis is H.D.'s epic poem, Trilogy, composed during 1942-1944, while she was living in World War II London. This project's primary aim is to investigate how the poet's participation in occult spiritual practices impacts the work's language. This reading examines terms, concepts, and ritualistic language from a range of esoteric traditions. While H.D. was involved in a wide range of occult practices, the specific traditions with which this investigation is mainly concerned are: astrology, spiritualism, Kabbalism, and gnostic Christianity. Explicating Trilogy exclusively through this lens places significantly more importance on the poem's metaphysical, historical, and archeological concerns, in contrast to directly psychoanalytical and secularly feminist criticism.
Recommended Citation
Harrell, Sarah Grace, "H.D.'s Incantations: Reading Trilogy as an Occultist's Creed" (2010). All ETDs from UAB. 1877.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/1877