Second theme of Family Life on the other hand shows how Hardy portrays family in various activities. They entertain each other with songs, they work together in the garden, they enjoy a breakfast together in the garden and they move house together. A spirit of co-operation and happiness is very obvious. All the images of the family emphasise their togetherness. The poem shows the family growing up from juniors to men and maidens. The family seem innocent and good natured. They all seem unaware that time is a threat that hangs over their happy activities. The last stanza shows that they have been successful and have gained in prosperity as they prepare to move to a new house. On another level this house may mean heaven; that their final destiny as a family is to die. The last line shows that they have all died.
Third major theme of the poem would be death, he explains how No matter how happy life can be, death awaits all. Hardy ends each stanza with a reminder of death. The most striking image of death is the word ‘carved’ in the final stanza. Hardy even suggests that in time the weather