IGCSE Every Hardy Poem in a Day

Thomas Hardy

1840-1928

Victorian periodIndustrialisation

Many lost belief in God –Darwin’s Evolution Theory

Terrible poverty and Conditions for many

Different attitude to Death

Many Poets & Artists as a result:

Idealised nature -looked to nature to represent human emotion missed a simpler, previous way of life

The question focus will always be closely linked to the Poem’s meaning.

What does the poem mean?

What do I think is effective in

the poem?

FORM

LANGUAGEIMAGERY

FORM & STRUCTUREALL 15 Hardy’s poems have a regular form & structure

WHY?Da dum de dum de dum da daDa dum de dum de dum de deDa dum de dum de dum da daDa dum de dum de dum da de

Why REGULAR FORM?

• Regular form suggests considered, careful, controlled, reflective thought• Not a passionate, emotional outburst

that he cannot control.

BUT…..

Hardy does frequently lose control of his feelings shown through

ENJAMBMENT run-on lines/feelingsCAESURA Pauses collecting thoughts or mini outburstsLINE LENGTH changes

LANGUAGE

Hardy uses clear SEMANTIC FIELDS in his poetry –Of Nature Of FateOf the Supernatural Of Death & DyingOf Sadness, Regret and Remorse

LANGUAGE

Other typical language techniques include:

• Alliteration (Sibilance (ssss) and Consonance)• Repetition• Strong semantic fields

IMAGERY

• Personification• Juxtaposition• Pathetic Fallacy• Circular imagery

I LOOK INTO MY GLASS

If you say anything, say:

HarrowingResentment

Cruelty

Hardy looks into the mirror and

sees his reflection – that of an

old man, which upsets him

I look into my glass,And view my wasting skin,And say, "Would God it came to passMy heart had shrunk as thin!"

For then, I, undistrestBy hearts grown cold to me,Could lonely wait my endless restWith equanimity.

But Time, to make me grieve,Part steals, lets part abide;And shakes this fragile frame at eveWith throbbings of noontide.




Find

8 Key Quotes/Phrases




Form: Reflective regular form and rhyme scheme with enjambment to show his overspilling emotion. Punctuation forces a slow pace.Language: consonant sounds to show his anger and bitterness. Semantic field of death and dying. Imagery: Personification of Time – Hardy as victim to its cold cruelty.

I LOOK INTO MY GLASS – Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy convey his feelings towards ageing in I Look Into My Glass?

• How does Hardy convey strong emotion in ILIMG?

• To what extent does Hardy make the reader feel sympathy for him in ILIMG?

#ILIMG _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DRUMMER HODGEIf you say anything, say:

HumanisesAlien

Brutal

DRUMMER HODGEThe death of a young drummer boy, in the Boer War 1899-1902 . His anonymity leads Hardy to call him by the insulting nickname ‘Hodge’

‘...in the country, one knows everybody, or about everybody, for miles round, rich & poor, & many husbands & sons have disappeared from our precincts, & are continually talked about by their relatives, naturally enough. I wrote a little

poem about the ghost of one who was killed the other day’

They throw in Drummer Hodge, to restUncoffined -- just as found:His landmark is a kopje-crest (hill-crest)That breaks the veldt around: (grasslands)And foreign constellations westEach night above his mound.

Young Hodge the drummer never knew --Fresh from his Wessex home --The meaning of the broad Karoo, (plateau)The Bush, the dusty loam, (The Bush)And why uprose to nightly viewStrange stars amid the gloam. (twilight)

Yet portion of that unknown plainWill Hodge for ever be;His homely Northern breast and brainGrow to some Southern tree,And strange-eyed constellations reignHis stars eternally.

They throw in Drummer Hodge, to restUncoffined -- just as found:His landmark is a kopje-crest (hill-crest)That breaks the veldt around: (grasslands)And foreign constellations westEach night above his mound.

Young Hodge the drummer never knew --Fresh from his Wessex home --The meaning of the broad Karoo, (plateau)The Bush, the dusty loam, (The Bush)And why uprose to nightly viewStrange stars amid the gloam. (twilight)

Yet portion of that unknown plainWill Hodge for ever be;His homely Northern breast and brainGrow to some Southern tree,And strange-eyed constellations reignHis stars eternally.

What is the semantic field in this poem?

Form: Reflective regular form and rhyme. Has a similar rhythm to traditional Hymns. Punctuation forces a slow pace.Language: South African words show how alien and foreign the war is for DH. Repetition of ‘his’ humanises DH. Semantic field of the landscape/nature to show insignificant people are. Also, how despite his horrific end, DH can find some peace in the ‘strange’ natural land, despite his helplessness to control his fate. Repetition of strange, foreign.Imagery: Brutal imagery at the start ‘burial’ of DH. Juxtaposition between the innocence and freshness of the ‘young’ drummer and the exotic ‘alien’ land of his death.

DRUMMER HODGE – Exam Q’s

• Explore how Hardy so powerfully expresses the horror of War in DH?

• How does Hardy convey a vivid impression of the young boy in DH?

CONVERGENCE OF THE TWAIN‘Lines on the Loss of the Titanic’


RelentlessLaments the vanity

Opulence

CONVERGENCE OF THE TWAIN‘Lines on the Loss of the Titanic’The meeting of the two

24th April 1912, written 10 days after the sinking of the Titanic

Heavy criticism for the expense, the excess, the arrogance and vanity of the build

I In a solitude of the sea Deep from human vanity,And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she. II Steel chambers, late the pyres Of her salamandrine fires,Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres. III Over the mirrors meant To glass the opulentThe sea-worm crawls - grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent. IV Jewels in joy designed To ravish the sensuous mindLie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind. V Dim moon-eyed fishes near Gaze at the gilded gearAnd query: 'What does this vaingloriousness down here?'. . . VI Well: while was fashioning This creature of cleaving wing,The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything

VII Prepared a sinister mate For her - so gaily great -A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate.

VIII And as the smart ship grew In stature, grace, and hueIn shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.

IX Alien they seemed to be: No mortal eye could seeThe intimate welding of their later history,

X Or sign that they were bent By paths coincidentOn being anon twin halves of one august event,

XI Till the Spinner of the YearsSaid 'Now!' And each one hears,And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres.

Form: Regular with a strong, relentless rhythm (aaa,bbb) like tidal waves driving forward to an inevitable ending. Caesura slows the pace stanza 3. Caesura final line parallels the final moment, the breaking of the life of the shipLanguage: Semantic field of fate and inevitability, and of opulence. Juxtaposition using adjectives throughout of richness to admire and its grotesque resting place on the sea bed, condemns human vanity but doesn’t refer to the human tragedy.Imagery: Imagery of ship wreck at start, to the moment of the crash, emphasises fate. The shaping of the iceberg at the same time as the ship foreshadows the outcome. The Titanic is the female in an arranged union, innocent from her sinful ‘Pride of Life’ of her makers.

CONVERGENCE – Exam Q’s

• Explore how Hardy so powerfully expresses the vanity of humankind in COTT?

• Explore how Hardy laments the sinking of the Titanic in COTT?

ON THE DEPARTURE PLATFORM


RecallingResignation

Dehumanising

ON THE DEPARTURE PLATFORM

Hardy says goodbye to a lady which marks the end of their relationship

On The Departure Platform We kissed at the barrier ; and passing through She left me, and moment by moment gotSmaller and smaller, until to my view She was but a spot ; A wee white spot of muslin fluffThat down the diminishing platform boreThrough hustling crowds of gentle and rough To the carriage door. Under the lamplight’s fitful glowers,Behind dark groups from far and near,Whose interests were apart from ours, She would disappear,

Find as many references to the lady. How does Hardy describe her?

Then show again, till I ceased to seeThat flexible form, that nebulous white ;And she who was more than my life to me Had vanished quite. We have penned new plans since that fair fond day,And in season she will appear again—Perhaps in the same soft white array— But never as then ! —‘And why, young man, must eternally flyA joy you’ll repeat, if you love her well ?’—O friend, nought happens twice thus ; why, I cannot tell !

Form: Reflective regular form and rhyme. Punctuation and caesura slow down the pace forcing dramatic pause eg. She left me.Language: Repetition in Stanza 1 is like an echo disappearing as he is recalling the moment. Language of resignation to the loss of a loved one. Many of the verbs used happen to Hardy (disappear, vanish etc.). Dehumanizing of the lady.Imagery: The departure is literal and metaphorical. Final stanza showing imaginary discussion with a listener, shows Hardy takes no responsibility for the end of love – he has no control and is therefore without blame.

ON THE DEPARTURE PLATFORM – Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy dramatically portray the end of a relationship?

• Explore how Hardy portrays the woman in On the Departure Platform.

• How does Hardy use setting in On The Departure Platform to add to the drama of the departure?

#OTDP_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

N E U T R AL T O N E S


EmotionlessHostility

Dissipate

N E U T R AL T O N E S

Hardy recalls standing by a pond and his feelings towards his partner as their

relationship draws to an end

NEUTRAL TONES

Form: Reflective regular form and rhyme. However, regularity becomes less secure as Hardy grows increasingly angry in the last stanza. This is his overspilling emotion, shown by caesura and enjambment.Language: Repetition of And suggests a listing of all the negative feelings Hardy has regarding the relationship. Full of Adjective phrases, creating the cold setting.Imagery: Pathetic fallacy of the setting to echo his cold emotions. Juxtaposition – the imagery of the dead smile and the grin of bitterness, horrific images of the warmth and love which has now turned to hate. The imagery of the ominous bird-a-wing also foreshadows and foretells of the end of the relationship. The repeated image of the Sun, first white – cold, emotionless then God-curst (fiery, angry) show how his emotions rise, then suddenly dissipate again with Hardy back, staring at the cold frozen lake.

NEUTRAL TONES – Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy feel about the death of the relationship in Neutral Tones?

• How does Hardy powerfully evoke a sense of bitterness in Neutral Tones?

• Explore the use of setting in Neutral Tones.

THE VOICEIf you say anything, say:

DactylicInterrogative Tone

Haunted

THE VOICE

Hardy thinks he can hear Emma’s voice calling to him. He is haunted by it.

The VoiceWoman much missed, how you call to me, call to me,Saying that now you are not as you wereWhen you had changed from the one who was all to me,But as at first, when our day was fair.

Can it be you that I hear? Let me view you, then,Standing as when I drew near to the townWhere you would wait for me: yes, as I knew you then,Even to the original air-blue gown!

Or is it only the breeze, in its listlessnessTravelling across the wet mead to me here,You being ever dissolved to wan wistlessness,Heard no more again far or near?

Thus I; faltering forward, Leaves around me falling,Wind oozing thin through the thorn from norward, And the woman calling.

What is most effective in this poem in your opinion?

The VoiceWoman much missed, how you call to me, call to me,Saying that now you are not as you wereWhen you had changed from the one who was all to me,But as at first, when our day was fair.

Can it be you that I hear? Let me view you, then,Standing as when I drew near to the townWhere you would wait for me: yes, as I knew you then,Even to the original air-blue gown!

Or is it only the breeze, in its listlessnessTravelling across the wet mead to me here,You being ever dissolved to wan wistlessness,Heard no more again far or near?

Thus I; faltering forward, Leaves around me falling,Wind oozing thin through the thorn from norward, And the woman calling.

Form: Reflective regular form and rhyme. The metre is dactylic, similar to the rhythm of a Waltz. Hardy is dancing with a ghost, there is also the effect of the echo rapidly disappearing. However, again, regularity goes in the final stanza, with a shorter line length & caesura, when Hardy returns to the present moment, and realises his current depression and hopelessness. Language: Unable to name Emma, Hardy refers to her as ‘woman’ and later ‘the woman’, distancing her so that he can emotionally cope with his loss. Interrogative tone creeps in in Stanza 2, as he demands to have his grief rewarded He is haunted by her memory and cannot move other than ‘faltering forward’ – alliteration throughout stanza emphasises the pain he is in. Sibilance in wistlessness and listlessness mimic the sound of the breeze. Repetition of the word ‘you’ highlight his desperation and painful longing.Imagery: A range of images that mix memory and imagination – ‘the air-blue gown’, that even Hardy realises he may be imagining. Semantic field of words relating to the wind. Personification of the breeze as lifeless having lost all energy.

The VOICE– Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy convey powerful feelings of loss in The Voice?

• Explore the way that Hardy communicates his distress in The Voice?

THE GOINGIf you say anything, say:

EuphemismDistress

Romanticises her

THE GOINGThe first of Hardy’s poems written as an outpouring of grief after Emma’s sudden and unexpected Death to Hardy. She had been ill for a while but he hadn’t been aware of it.

Why did you give no hint that nightThat quickly after the morrow's dawn,And calmly, as if indifferent quite,You would close your term here, up and be goneWhere I could not followWith wing of swallowTo gain one glimpse of you ever anon! Never to bid good-bye,Or lip me the softest call,Or utter a wish for a word, while ISaw morning harden upon the wall,Unmoved, unknowingThat your great goingHad place that moment, and altered all. Why do you make me leave the houseAnd think for a breath it is you I seeAt the end of the alley of bending boughsWhere so often at dusk you used to be;Till in darkening danknessThe yawning blanknessOf the perspective sickens me!

You were she who abodeBy those red-veined rocks far West,You were the swan-necked one who rodeAlong the beetling Beeny Crest,And, reining nigh me,Would muse and eye me,While Life unrolled us its very best. Why, then, latterly did we not speak,Did we not think of those days long dead,And ere your vanishing strive to seekThat time's renewal? We might have said,"In this bright spring weatherWe'll visit togetherThose places that once we visited." Well, well! All's past amend,Unchangeable. It must go.I seem but a dead man held on endTo sink down soon. . . . O you could not knowThat such swift fleeingNo soul foreseeing—Not even I—would undo me so!

Find the references to death.

Form: An elegy for his wife dealing with shock, despair. Irregular in rhythm, highlighting his grief whilst writing the poem. Final stanza shows a real unravelling of emotion with caesura to gather himself and accept her death to enjambment and dramatic overspilling of emotion losing control.Language: Interrogative tone, questioning why his wife left him, accusing her of going ‘where he could not follow’. Euphemisms to mention death as the pain overwhelms him. Hard consonant sounds create dissonance, showing his anger.Imagery: Hardy conveys bitterness at being left with grief, that he is in pain and sick – his life has been transformed. Romanticised imagery of Emma –’swan necked’ elegant, feminine. The idealised Emma – with images of their holidays in Cornwall.

The GOING – Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy convey powerful feelings of loss in The Going?

• Explore the way that Hardy communicates his distress in The Going?

AT THE WORD

FAREWELL


FragmentsDominance

Supernatural

AT THE WORD

FAREWELLA Poem written in 1917, Hardy remembering his first meeting with Emma 47 years earlier and 5 years after her death

She looked like a bird from a cloudOn the clammy lawn,Moving alone, bare-browedIn the dim of dawn.The candles alight in the roomFor my parting mealMade all things withoutdoors loomStrange, ghostly, unreal.

The hour itself was a ghost,And it seemed to me thenAs of chances the chance furthermostI should see her again.I beheld not where all was so fleetThat a Plan of the pastWhich had ruled us from birthtime to meetWas in working at last:

No prelude did I there perceiveTo a drama at all,Or foreshadow what fortune might weaveFrom beginnings so small;But I rose as if quicked by a spurI was bound to obey,And stepped through the casement to herStill alone in the gray.

"I am leaving you . . . Farewell!" I said,As I followed her onBy an alley bare boughs overspread;"I soon must be gone!"Even then the scale might have been turnedAgainst love by a feather,- But crimson one cheek of hers burnedWhen we came in together.

Form: Despite the regular rhyme scheme, this is the most irregular of all of Hardy’s poems in terms of line length. It is a series of fragments of images that Hardy is recalling. Language: The semantic field is of the supernatural and fate, adding to the ghostly nature of the poem. There are many references to darkness and a sense of the fading light.Imagery: The imagery in the first stanza spills over through a series of caesuras. In Stanza 3, Hardy likens himself to a horse, suggesting the dominance Emma had over the relationship. Personification of ‘Plan’ and of Fortune, indicate again, that Hardy believed he was powerless to control his own fate and therefore bore no responsibility. This is emphasised by the imagery of the scale (destiny) being changed by a feather (being so delicate) that neither of them could prevent the meeting or falling in love.

AT THE WORD FAREWELL– Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy communicate a sense of fate or destiny in At the Word Farewell?

In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’If you say anything, say:

EpicMundaneVignettes

In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’Hardy was asked to write a poem to regain public confidence in the war effort as people were turning against it.

1916The title of the poem is a direct quote from the Bible, Jeremiah 51:20. ‘Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms.

IOnly a man harrowing clods In a slow silent walkWith an old horse that stumbles and nodsHalf asleep as they stalk.

IIOnly thin smoke without flame From the heaps of couch-grass; Yet this will go onward the same Though Dynasties pass.

IIIYonder a maid and her wight Come whispering by:War's annals will cloud into night Ere their story die.

Explain the importance of the verbs used by Hardy

IOnly a man harrowing clods In a slow silent walkWith an old horse that stumbles and nodsHalf asleep as they stalk.

IIOnly thin smoke without flame From the heaps of couch-grass; Yet this will go onward the same Though Dynasties pass.

IIIYonder a maid and her wight Come whispering by:War's annals will cloud into night Ere their story die.

Form: Regular, slow, calm and positive. The inclusion of the Roman Numerals convey the ‘epic’ importance of rural everyday life and the passing nature of war, however horrific. Lack of punctuation forces the slow, eternal pace.Language: Ambiguity of the word harrowing in the first stanza. Semantic field of rural life – a pastoral poem. Also many adjectives and verb choices suggesting pace – slow, old, stumbles, pass etc. are juxtaposed to the chaotic, speed of War, suggesting that nothing will be changed irrevocably. The use of Sibilance in the first stanza demands a slower reading having an impact on the pace. Repetition of ‘Only’ is litotes as Hardy clearly feels these rural scenes are anything but unimportantImagery: The use of three vignettes of mundane scenes, almost frozen in time, like pictures, show their permanence compared to the temporary nature of War.

In Time of ‘Breaking of Nations’ – Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy use rural life to communicate his feelings of War?

Nobody Comes


IsolationConsuming

Withdrawal

Nobody Comes

Written when Hardy was 74 and he was waiting for his second wife Florence to return home after being in hospital.

Nobody ComesTree-leaves labour up and down,And through them the fainting lightSuccumbs to the crawl of night.Outside in the road the telegraph wireTo the town from the darkening landIntones to travelers like a spectral lyreSwept by a spectral hand.

A car comes up, with lamps full-glare,That flash upon a tree:It has nothing to do with me,And whangs along in a world of its own,Leaving a blacker air;And mute by the gate I stand again alone,And nobody pulls up there.

What is personified in this poem?

Form: The poem has a regular structure. The lack of punctuation in the first stanza echoes the ‘crawling’ of the night that cannot be stopped. Language: Language of darkness and the supernatural. The references to 20th century objects have both literally and metaphorically ‘nothing’ to do with Hardy. He is from an earlier time, pre- technology. Repetition of ‘And’ reinforces his sense of loneliness and desperation. Imagery: Full of personification – the tree leaves, the night, the car. Hardy, as the only human, stands alone with ghostly objects surrounding him. None of the objects have a positive impact on the surroundings. They leave darkness, blackness and seem to be consuming everything in their path. The car ‘leaves a blacker air’ foreshadowing the impact of the advances of technology.

Nobody Comes– Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy communicate a powerful sense of isolation in Nobody Comes?

• How does Hardy evoke a vivid impression of the setting in Nobody Comes?

The Pine PlantersIf you say anything, say:

ReverieBleak

Permanence

The Pine Planters

A young working girl, Marty South is in love with a young man, but he is love with someone else. She works secretly holding pine trees in place, while her father is ill at home.

The Pine Planters(MARTY SOUTH'S REVERIE) IWe work here togetherIn blast and breeze;He fills the earth in,I hold the trees.

He does not noticeThat what I doKeeps me from movingAnd chills me through.

He has seen one fairerI feel by his eye,Which skims me as thoughI were not by.

And since she passed hereHe scarce has knownBut that the woodlandHolds him alone.

IIFrom the bundle at hand hereI take each tree,And set it to stand, hereAlways to be;When, in a second,As if from fearOf Life unreckonedBeginning here,It starts a sighingThrough day and night,Though while there lying'Twas voiceless quite.

It will sigh in the morning,Will sigh at noon,At the winter's warning,In wafts of June;Grieving that neverKind Fate decreedIt should for everRemain a seed,And shun the welterOf things without,Unneeding shelterFrom storm and drought.

Thus, all unknowingFor whom or whatWe set it growingIn this bleak spot,It still will grieve hereThroughout its time,Unable to leave here,Or change its clime;Or tell the storyOf us to-dayWhen, halt and hoary,We pass away.

I have worked here with himSince morning shine,He busy with his thoughtsAnd I with mine.

I have helped him so many,So many days,But never win anySmall word of praise!

Shall I not sigh to himThat I work onGlad to be nigh to himThough hope is gone?

Nay, though he neverKnew love like mine,I'll bear it everAnd make no sign!

Form: The poem has a regular structure. It is in two parts, quite distinct. Minimal punctuation in Part 1 conveys the simplicity. The second part has longer stanzas, showing a more sophisticated self-awareness of her situation. Part 1 is her daydream. Part 2 her self-realisation through her understanding of nature.Language: The first part is simplistic, full of monosyllables, to show the simplicity of Marty South’s life. The language becomes more descriptive in the second part. The simple language are in contrast with the depths of her pain and emotion. Repetition emphasises the toil and labour of the work. Imagery: Personification of the trees in Part 2 is an extended metaphor for Marty South’s feelings. The tree has no control over its fate – condemned to a life rooted in a ‘bleak’ spot not of its own choosing, unable to leave. It will wish it had been allowed to remain a ‘seed’ ‘unneeding shelter’. She too cannot leave. However, the tree has permanence and will stay for ever.

Pine Planters– Exam Q’s

• Explore the lives of characters Hardy creates in the Pine Planters.

• How does Hardy convey a sense of the permanence of nature in the Pine Planters?

NO BUYERS: A STREET SCENE


ToilMaterial Possessions

Dependent

NO BUYERS: A STREET SCENE

An elderly man and woman wander along a street, with their old pony, trying to sell their goods

A Load of brushes and baskets and cradles and chairs Labours along the street in the rain:With it a man, a woman, a pony with whiteybrown hairs. — The man foots in front of the horse with a shambling sway At a slower tread than a funeral train, While to a dirge-like tune he chants his waresSwinging a Turk's-head brush (in a drum-major's way When the bandsmen march and play).

A yard from the back of the man is the whiteybrown pony's nose:He mirrors his master in every item of pace and pose: He stops when the man stops, without being told, And seems to be eased by a pause; too plainly he's old, Indeed, not strength enough shows To steer the disjointed waggon straight, Which wriggles left and right in a rambling line, Deflected thus by its own warp and weight, And pushing the pony with it in each incline.

The woman walks on the pavement verge, Parallel to the man: She wears an apron white and wide in span,And carries a like Turk's-head, but more in nursing-wise: Now and then she joins in his dirge, But as if her thoughts were on distant things, The rain clams her apron till it clings. —So, step by step, they move with their merchandize, And nobody buys.

Form: Overuse of conjunctions to show the tedium and slowness of their daily lives. 3 long stanzas show the length of their struggle.Language: The poem is full of object descriptions. Despite the wares they have to sell, they are pointless – simply dragging the man and woman down – they and the pony are chained to the waggon. There is nothing romantic about the scene – their ‘dirge-like’ tune emphasises the barely living, funeral imagery.Imagery: Raining – pathetic fallacy. The distance between the man and the woman is both literal and metaphorical ‘her thoughts on distant things’ suggesting, they have long since been surviving rather than living. The pony is faithful and loyal to his master, and totally dependent on him. The final line is in sharp contrast to the effort the couple have put in to earn money, but with no impact ‘nobody buys’.

No Buyers – Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy vividly portray the lives of the man and the woman in No Buyers?

The Darkling Thrush


SupernaturalMoribund

Interrupted

The Darkling Thrush

Hardy stands by a gate on the eve of the turn of the century, on December 31st 1899, when his attention is drawn to a thrush who lands close to him.

I leant upon a coppice gate When Frost was spectre-gray,And Winter’s dregs made desolate The weakening eye of day.The tangled bine-stems scored the sky Like strings of broken lyres,And all mankind that haunted nigh Had sought their household fires.

The land’s sharp features seemed to be The Century’s corpse outleant,His crypt the cloudy canopy, The wind his death-lament.The ancient pulse of germ and birth Was shrunken hard and dry,And every spirit upon earth Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among The bleak twigs overheadIn a full-hearted evensong Of joy illimited;An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small, In blast-beruffled plume,Had chosen thus to fling his soul Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings Of such ecstatic soundWas written on terrestrial things Afar or nigh around,That I could think there trembled through His happy good-night airSome blessed Hope, whereof he knew And I was unaware.

Form: Written as an Ode, to address the passing century. The pace is slow. Regular rhyme scheme.Language: References to the supernatural and the death /dying. Everything is lifeless. The death of the century. Even the title uses the word Darkling (darkening). It is full of heavy consonant sounds to echo the idea of death and dying. Alliteration of C sounds in Stanza 2. The passing of the century is difficult and uncomfortable. Imagery: The gate could symbolise a pathway to the new century. Personification of Frost. Simile of the broken lyre suggests all is broken and dead. Juxtaposition of the gloom and the impact of the bird on the scene. Nature, as usual, is honest and serves to teach man a lesson about hope. That he ‘was unaware’ of any reason for hope, again suggests Hardy’s belief in Fate.

The Darkling Thrush– Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy use the natural setting in Darkling Thrush to communicate his feelings ?

• Explore the use of nature in the Darkling Thrush.

DURING WIND AND RAIN


ReverieInevitability

Outburst

DURING WIND AND RAIN

Hardy describes scenes from Emma’s family, playing and having fun. But life creeps up on them and all inevitably pass away.

They sing their dearest songs— He, she, all of them—yea, Treble and tenor and bass, And one to play; With the candles mooning each face. . . . Ah, no; the years O!How the sick leaves reel down in throngs!

They clear the creeping moss— Elders and juniors—aye, Making the pathways neat And the garden gay; And they build a shady seat. . . . Ah, no; the years, the years,See, the white storm-birds wing across.

They are blithely breakfasting all— Men and maidens—yea, Under the summer tree, With a glimpse of the bay, While pet fowl come to the knee. . . . Ah, no; the years O!And the rotten rose is ript from the wall.

They change to a high new house, He, she, all of them—aye, Clocks and carpets and chairs On the lawn all day, And brightest things that are theirs. . . . Ah, no; the years, the years; Down their carved names the rain-drop ploughs.

Form: The poem has a regular form with built in juxtaposition of the happiness of the scene, leading to a focus on the horror of fate and time forever moving forward. In each stanza the ellipsis shows that Hardy has drifted into reverie which is interrupted by the painful knowledge of time and death.Language: Euphemism of death. Changing to a new house (heaven). Many words hint at the fate of the family and all human life - ‘blithely’ ‘candles’ ‘glimpse’ ‘shady’. Dramatic outpouring of emotion with the exclaimed ‘O!’ and the repetition of ‘the years’. Imagery: Foreshadowing of fate and inevitable death. Ominous imagery of ‘creeping moss’ and ‘storm-birds’. Unlike the materials possessions, only the natural elements have power ‘the rain drop ploughs’ down the headstone carved names– whereas everything else, including life, will disappear into nothing. The light, happy tone at the beginning of the poem is shown to be futile and pointless.

During Wind and Rain– Exam Q’s

• How does Hardy convey his feelings towards fate and death in ‘During Wind and Rain’?

Ambiguity Having several possible meanings

Annals Historical documents especially of War

Bleak Without hope or life.

Caesura A pause or break in a line of poetry

Condemn To be highly critical of something, to blame.

Consumed by To be full of a feeling, eg. guilt

Dehumanising To take away the human qualities of someone

Desolate Sad, bleak, desperate

Dissipate To disappear, vanish, evaporate.

Ellipsis Punctuation (…) a pause, hesitation mark

Elegy Sad poem to express grief over the dead

Enjambment technique of run on lines, lose control of emotion

Euphemism A polite or less painful way to express something eg. to talk about death.

Fragments Pieces of something, for example memories.

Futile Pointless, hopeless.

Grotesque Horrible, disgusting

Harrowing Traumatic and upsetting or a term used for ploughing and farming.

Inevitability The sense that something is unstoppable.

Isolation Loneliness

Juxtaposition Contrast by placing two ideas near to each other.

Lament (verb) To express grief about something

Listlessness Lacking in any energy, lifeless.

Litotes Understatement, obvious under-exaggeration.

Monosyllables Single units of sound.

Minimalistic Simplicity.

Mundane Boring, Dull, monotonous.

Ode A lyric poem addressing a particular thing.

Ominous Giving the impression that something bad is going to happen.

Opulence Extreme luxury and wealth, almost grotesque.

Pastoral Relating to the countryside, rural life.

Pathetic Fallacy Using the weather to echo the emotions of the characters eg. rain = sadness

Permanence Something always existing, without change.

Quatrains 4 line stanzas.

Resignation A sense of sad acceptance of a situation, hopelessness that things will never change.

Recall To remember, to call up in your mind.

Reverie A state of dreamy meditation, a daydream

Unrequited love Love which is not felt by both people.

Vanity Arrogance and pride.

Vaingloriousness Excessive pride over achievements.

Vignettes A freeze frame story, a moment frozen in time.

wistlessness Without hope or positivity.HARD

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Write a 110 character Tweet on each poem. You could summarise it or point out key devices or imagery

#ILIMG _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#DH_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#COTT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#NT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#TV _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#TG _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#ATWF _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#ITBN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#OTDP _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#NC _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#TPP _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#NB _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#TDT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#DWR _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

#Hardy_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Education

IGCSE Every Hardy Poem in a Day