Poetry Analysis: A Choking Beauty

A sense of frustration overwhelms the speaker in the opening couplet. The first line reads, “I have had enough.” Colloquial as it may be, the phrase is idiomatic in that it conveys more than a simple statement of satisfaction or measure; the speaker is expressing exasperation as the cornerstone of the poem. This leads the audience to believe that there is something with which the speaker has been tolerant in the past, but that tolerance has reached its end. Whenever frustration exists, it begs an automatic question of why by those witnessing the frustration. In that sense, H.D. has gotten the audience’s attention right away. The specific verbiage used conveys that there is too much of something, and that is causing trouble for the speaker. Had H.D. used different words here, something akin to “I am frustrated,” the message would not have been nearly as clear. However, the use of “I have had enough” manages to suggest irritation, a problem, and a sense of overwhelm all at once. The same phrase is repeated in the ninth line of the poem, thus pointing out the excessiveness and passion of the emotion. Upon reading the rest of the poem, it is becomes clear that the expression could easily be a muttering of nature itself. This is particularly relevant and insightful given that the message of the poem relates to the restriction of nature’s growth by man-made obstacles and whims.

The restriction of nature’s growth is similarly personified in the second line of the couplet, “I gasp for breath.” In this case, the speaker is using both literal and symbolic messaging. A gasp for breath typically signifies the need for more air because one is not getting enough, usually due to being choked by something else. Since the speaker has already conveyed that there is too much of something, this implies that the excess is the thing that is stifling the breath. The speaker gasps for breath because the speaker is fed up with man-made interference. In the literal sense, a reading of the rest of the poem illuminates that in the same way the speaker is being squelched, so too is nature. This creates a symmetry between the effects of man on nature and the effects of bridled nature on man. 

The bridling of nature is seen throughout the poem but becomes especially evident in the second and third stanzas. The speaker first describes the resolute paths of roads and hills in that they are similar and end abruptly as though their natural surge was pressed into submission. Then, the speaker uses imagery to create a picture of perfection: “border-pinks, clove-pinks, wax-lilies / herbs, sweet-cress” (H.D. 10-11). Interestingly, the first flowers mentioned are border-pinks, those flowers typically planted along the edge of something as though to signify the end. This correlates with the description of the landscaped hills and paths and begins to point toward a falsification of nature.

The falsification of nature is amplified in the fourth stanza when the speaker yearns for imperfection or even just the bittersweet opposite of perfect beauty. In lines 12-17, the speaker says,

O for some sharp swish of a branch 

there is no scent of resin 

in this place, 

no taste of bark, of coarse weeds, 

aromatic, astringent 

only border on border of scented pinks. 

With this phrase, H.D. again uses imagery, this time as a contrast to the imagery used in the stanza above. Whereas the description of pink flowers and herbs suggests a softness that is overbearing, this depiction presents as rough, worn, and true. This stanza also uses consonance to further convey the message of excess interference. Some, sharp, swish, scent, resin, place, taste, coarse, weeds, and astringent all contain strong –s sounds. Given that the speaker is firmly expressing their desire for free, unbridled, imperfect nature rather than untrue manicured nature, this repetition insists on attention. The last line of the stanza speaks of borders of scented pink as a sharp contrast to the preceding images of roughhewn plant life, showing by tone that the pink flowers so meticulously groomed are something to which the speaker may scoff. 

This attitude of indignation continues in the personification of the next stanza. The speaker refers to “fruit under cover / that wanted light” (H.D. 18-19). H.D. is giving life to fruit in this phrase as though the fruit has a desire for further sunlight rather than a cover. The speaker seems to think that shading fruit when it is not yet fully ripe is another example of the restriction of nature’s bounty. To the speaker, it is unnatural, and therefor intolerable. Likewise, the speaker mentions melons covered by straw and pears wrapped in cloth. In this stanza, H.D. takes the message of bridled nature a step farther by incorporating nature’s products as well. In the same way that the plants that grew the fruit were restricted, so too are the fruit themselves from reaching their full potential. At this point in the poem, as many poems do, it is possible for readers to infer that the speaker is talking about nature but may also be talking about all life in general.

This allusion to life is highlighted in the next stanza when the speaker says, “All your coaxing will only make / a bitter fruit” (H.D. 26-27). In other words, temperance is ruining the product that man is trying so hard to utilize. In man’s mind, he is trying to draw out of the fruit the best flavor, the most concise ripeness, and the most convenient procurement. However, the speaker finds this appalling. The speaker argues that instead, the fruit should be allowed to “. . . ripen of themselves, / test their own worth” (H.D. 28-29). This reflects the speaker’s belief that nature is most valuable when allowed to progress on its own. When compared to life, this suggests that man should not be forced down a false path nor be plucked before reaching his potential. Rather, man should be allowed to ripen and mature at his own pace.

The use of an interrupter in the next stanza reiterates the speaker’s appreciation of imperfection. When describing when a melon should be harvested, the speaker says, “It is better to taste of frost / -the exquisite frost- / than of waddling and of dead grass” (H.D. 37-39). The literal meaning of the phrase could still be understood without the use of the interrupter, but in this case, the interrupter serves to express an appreciation for something often deemed detrimental—frost. Though typically dangerous, the speaker sees frost as something natural and inevitable, and thus is beautiful. This ironic pairing of a positive description and a negative action supports the speaker’s perception of beauty as inclusive of ugliness. To the speaker, beauty is not the lack of ugliness but the strength of it. 

Perhaps the most blatant use of the irony comes near the end of the poem when the speaker states, “For this beauty / beauty without strength / chokes out life” (H.D. 40-42). This line summarizes the entire message of them poem. To the speaker, regardless of how beautiful or “perfect” something is, it is imperfection or harsh conditions that make it strong. In fact, the speaker implies that the weakness of beauty is cruel in that it portrays itself as something to be appreciated. Moreover, the idealization of weak beauty can in fact suffocate life. The speaker idealizes imperfection, and thus has “had enough” of falsified perfection, arguing that in its attempt to be seen as perfect, it is in fact killing itself. The speaker goes on to speak of a desire to see the flowers pummeled by falling branches and dead leaves as though to eradicate any evidence of their existence. Describing violent ends to the flowers such as decapitated tops, the persona of the speaker continues to portray passionate emotion and firm belief. Even though it may mean that the trees die and the plants rot, they would have reached their potential on their own, and thus reflect a standard of beauty that far outweighs that of man-made subterfuge. 

In “Sheltered Garden,” H.D. contrasts the perceived beauty of manicured gardens with wild and free sense of unbridled nature. By doing so, she illustrates the power of freedom and the suicidal notion of perfection. The speaker exhibits a sort of righteous anger toward man-made arrangements of plant life and declares that man’s barriers are choking nature to the point that both will perish horrifically and tragically. While the poem specifically discusses several landscapes and has absolute relevance to naturalistic concerns, the poem also reflects the frustration with the preoccupation of falsified beauty; this is a very human concern, and one that has whispered between the lines of many poems. In the last lines of the poem, the speaker expresses a desire to destroy the fake gardens and seek a new kind of beauty—but not in another manicured garden. Rather, the speaker suggests that beauty can be found “in some terrible / wind-tortured place” (H.D. 57-58). Perhaps man then, too, should look for beauty in the midst of trial and imperfection.

Works Cited

H.D. "Sheltered Garden." Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems /48189/sheltered-garden. Accessed 24 Nov. 2017