The Themes of Loss and Loneliness in Hardy's Poetry

1187 Words3 Pages

The Themes of Loss and Loneliness in Hardy's Poetry

Introduction

============

From 1862 to 1867 Hardy worked for an architect in London and later

continued to practice architecture, despite ill health, in Dorset.

Meanwhile, he was writing poetry with little success. He then turned

to novels as more salable, and by 1874 he was able to support himself

by writing. This is also the year that Hardy married his first wife,

Emma Gifford. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1912, which

prompted Hardy to write his collection of poems called Veteris

Vestigiae Flammae (Vestiges of an Old Flame). These poems are some of

Hardy's finest and describe their meeting and his subsequent loss.

In this essay I am going analyse three poems and those three poems

will be "The Voice", "Neutral Tones" and "Where The Picnic Was"

Section 1 - Context

-------------------

Thomas Hardy was writing around from 1870 and gave up novel writing in

1895 after receiving harsh criticism. In those times the laws were

very different. For instance women could not vote at all which could

have made a difference if they did vote. After Emma died - which was

Hardy's first wife he wrote poems that were for her or about her when

they were married.

Section 2 - Content, Tone and Theme

===================================

The first poem is "The Voice". The poem is about his wife, Emma and

how he misses her deeply and every sound like the wind blowing reminds

him of Emma's voice. The tone of this poem is sad which reflects on

what Hardy is feeling because this would mean that Hardy is sad as

well. There is also pathetic fallacy used in this poem as well. There

is also natural settings that echoes the mood of sadness and

loneliness and this is an example of the main themes running through

his poems which is loss and loneliness

The second poem is titled "Neutral Tones". This poem is about a

different woman; the woman that he met before he meets Emma and this

Show More
Related

  • The Great Depression of the Late 1800’s (An analysis of Emily Bronte’s and Thomas Hardy’s Poems

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the lives of most people on the planet, there comes a time when there may be a loss of love, hope or remembrance in our lives. These troublesome times in our lives can be the hardest things we go through. Without love or hope, what is there to live for? Some see that the loss of hope and love means the end, these people being pessimistic, while others can see that even though they feel at a loss of love and hope that one day again they will feel love and have that sense of hope, these people are optimistic. These feelings that all of us had, have been around since the dawn of many. Throughout the centuries, the expression of these feelings has made their ways into literature, novels, plays, poems, and recently movies. The qualities of love, hope, and remembrance can be seen in Emily Bronte’s and Thomas Hardy’s poems of “Remembrance” “Darkling Thrush” and “Ah, Are you Digging on my Grave?”

    Read More

  • William Cullen Bryant: Poem Analysis

    401 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Death is like a flower growing in a patch of weeds. Even where there is bad/evil the end will be beautiful.” The simile I wrote means that every person is going to through a hard time in their life but no matter how hard or awful it is you will end in a beautiful place called Haven. While reading William Cullen Bryant’s poem I came to the conclusion that we have somewhat of the same views. In his poem he says, “unnoticed by the living—and no friend.” I believe that he was trying to have people comprehend that even if you are unnoticed and have no friends that doesn’t change where you’ll end up in life. Today people romanticize a large number of things one being models. People romanticize models by wanting to be them and look

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Raven And Annabel Lee

    351 Words  | 1 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe’s poems The Raven, And Annabel Lee Contrast in many different ways but i'll be highlighting three of them in this paper.The mood of these poems is sad because their true loves die in very different settings and how they handle the grief is different from one going totally insane to the other man being calm and almost a little light hearted about it.

    Read More

  • Distraught and Haunted Poet

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sylvia Plath may be one of the most remarkable and idolized modern poets of the twentieth century. Sylvia Plath had an emotional life, and a troublesome past with her father's death, insecurities because of self-doubt, a tragic break up with her husband and severe depression, leading to her suicide in 1963. These tragic events in Plath’s life played a vast part in her career as a poet and novelist, by inspiring her to create her melancholy and notorious masterpieces.

    Read More

  • Heart Rate Lab Report

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    = = = = =

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

    1575 Words  | 4 Pages

    The idea of losing a loved is a powerful emotion and one that virtually every person can relate to. It was with this concept in mind that Edgar Allan Poe crafted his classic narrative poem “The Raven.” For some, poetry acts as a means to express different ideals, either social, intellectual, or philosophical. For Edgar Allan Poe, poetry was at its best when it conveyed beauty through the expression of simple yet powerful emotion. In Poe’s mind, there was no purer manifestation of poetic beauty than the deep emotion felt from the loss of a beloved woman. Is with this in mind the Poe employs setting, tone, and symbolism to relate the powerful emotion of never-ending despair to connect with his audience in the classic poem “The Raven.”

    Read More

  • Themes Of Isolation In Grass By Carl Sandburg

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Loss and isolation are easy, yet difficult to write about. They are easy because every human being can empathize with loneliness. If someone denies this, they are lying because loneliness is a common feeling, anyone can relate. It’s hard because we don’t discuss loneliness or loss publicly very often, and when we do, we forget about it quickly. These poems contrast each other by speaking of the different types of loneliness and isolation, distinguishing between the ones of loss, and isolation in a positive perspective.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe's Sorrows

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is considered one of the greatest of his time. He lived with his parents No sooner than his father had left his mother passed. She died from tuberculosis at the mere age of twenty four. Poe and his siblings were by her side until her last breath. He later became the dependent of John Allan of Richmond, Virginia hence Allan being Poe’s middle name. The Allans were quite fond of young Poe as they had no children. Frances Allan was very motherly and nurturing towards Poe which was unfamiliar to him (Meltzer). At the age of five he began his schooling with a private tutor. He soon had a keen ear for music and was able to recite English poems. He would sparsely see his brother and sister from time to time. At age six the family moved to England where Poe continued his schooling. He was considered one of the most famous student and could speak French, Latin and knew a lot about literature. In his teen years Edgar began studying in Richmond schools. There were no free public education system at that time (Lange). He continued to excel in his love for languages. He continued to write poems and would always read them for his fellow classmates. At the age of seventeen he began to attend the University of Virginia in Charlottesville with very little money. He could only afford to take two classes which were Latin and French. He had an interest for math which he could not pursue because he had no funds to pay it. Poe thought that the university was “wild” with students gambling, drinking and fighting. Poe had a turbulent upbringing and his misfortunes are very much embedded in his stories.

    Read More

  • A Parent’s Elegy

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the early seventeenth century, poets were able to mourn the loss of a child publicly by writing elegies, or poems to lament the deceased. Katherine Philips and Ben Jonson were two poets who wrote the popular poems “On the Death of My Dearest Child, Hector Philips”, “On My First Son”, and “On My First Daughter” respectively. Although Philips and Jonson’s elegies contain obvious similarities, the differences between “On the Death of My Dearest Child” and “On My First Son” specifically are pronounced. The emotions displayed in the elegies are very distinct when considering the sex of the poet. The grief shown by a mother and father is a major theme when comparing the approach of mourning in the two elegies.

    Read More

  • Audens Poems on The Process of Mourning

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    The process of mourning will be different for ever individual, the emotions that are felt during this time can range from hate to love. W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” describes the day of someone who is mourning a loved one and experiences feelings such as denial and depression. Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could Not Stop for Death” on the other hand describes the events someone feels as they being to accept death. There are many similarities between these pieces of writings such as the poet’s use of metaphors, imagery, tone and structure. Although these two poems express death in opposite ways they have a common theme which states that death is a part of life. Both of these poems express the different ways that people deal with death; Auden’s poem depicts dark emotions while Dickinson’s tone suggests understanding and acceptance of death.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Loss in Poetry

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Theme of Loss in Poetry Provide a sample of poetry from a range of authors, each of whom portrays a different character. the theme of loss in some way. Anthology Introduction The object of this collection is to provide a sample of poetry from a range of authors, each of whom portray the theme of ‘loss’ in some way. The ‘Loss’ has been a recurring theme in literature for centuries, from.

    Read More

  • Cognitive Development and Language Skills Development

    2085 Words  | 5 Pages

    = = = = =

    Read More

  • Literary Elements in Emily Bronte´s Poem Remembrance

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emily Bronte’s Remembrance is about one who is reminiscing a lost love who had died. It is an elegy poem which is “a poem that laments the death of a person, or one that is simply sad and thoughtful.” Remembrance is also a lyric poem in which “expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.” The poem reflects the historical context of the 18th century and expresses the romanticism of the Victorian era. Bronte has influenced her 18th century audience and 21st century audience to connect to the tone and mood of the poem through the literary devices she has used, such as imagery and repetition. Through her use of these literary elements, Bronte has created a sense of heartache and remembrance for those who have experienced similar loss to the loss present in the poem. For me personally, these elements, along with the romanticism she has included, make me appreciate my life in that I have not yet experienced this heartache, and encourages me to realise how fortunate I am to have people in my life in which have a similar love for me as the speaker has for their lover.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Beauty of Poe and Emerson

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    He reiterates the importance of melancholy in The Philosophy of Composition--"Now, never losing sight of the object supremeness, or perfection, at all points, I asked myself--- "Of all melancholy topics, what, according to the universal understanding of mankind, is the most melancholy?" Death --- was the obvious reply. "And when," I said, "is this most melancholy of topics most poetical?" From what I have already explained at some length, the answer, here also, is obvious-- "When it most closely allies itself to Beauty: the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world-- and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such a topic are those of a bereaved lover" (Poe 265).

    Read More

  • Timeless And Universal Classic Poems: Letters From A Father And Vespers

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Classic literature is timeless and universal. It must enrich the mind, resonate with the reader in regards to human condition and is not limited to a specific period of time; the message must be eternal. A classic poem’s meaning is conveyed in a discernible yet eloquent manner. Letters from a Father and Vespers are two poems that were thought-provoking, both examined human behavior/condition and provided insight to universal truths. Both A Primer of a Daily Round and A Way to Love God failed to inspire further contemplation or spark any deep sentiments.

    Read More

More about The Themes of Loss and Loneliness in Hardy's Poetry

Open Document