Neutral Tones Essay
Compare and Contrast ‘Neutral Tones’ by Thomas Hardy and ‘Absence’ by Elizabeth Jennings.
In both poems Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Jennings they have lost a person they were close to. There are some similarities in their feeling but there responses are different. Neither poets can forget the experience and are reminiscing on the situation. They are both going back to the place where they were with the people they loved. However in ‘Absence’ she has actually gone to the place they were together and in ‘Neutral Tones’ he is remembering the time they where together.
“Neutral Tones” comes across as very negative. His language suggests that he has grown bitter towards love. He uses pessimistic words such as ‘grey’, ‘tedious’, ‘deadest’, ‘bitterness’, ‘ominous’ and ‘wrings’. It also suggests he is quite angry when he describes the sun …show more content…
as ‘white’ and ‘chidden of God.‘ This is also using pathetic fallacy as it reflects his feelings. He also states that ‘love deceives’ showing how cynical he has grown towards love and relationships.
Elizabeth Jennings poem is less cynical and angry. It is more sad than angry. It is also a lot more personal as if she is writing directly to the person she has lost. There is also mention of being shaken consistently though the poem. She describes it as ‘an earthquake’ which shows how devastated she’s feeling as an earthquake is quite dramatic. The birds are described as being ‘shook out of the trees’ which suggests forced discomfort to the birds just as she feels it is an unnatural loss. Also saying there was no ‘discord shake the level breeze.’ This is a contradiction to how she is actually feeling. On the last line of the poem it says she is ‘shaken by my thinking of your name’. The suggestion of being ‘shaken’ shows how out of place she feels about the person she loved not being with her anymore. Furthermore it suggests the person she has lost has died whereas in Thomas Hardys’ poem he appears to have had a relationship that has ended through a break up.
The environment is described fully in both poems. However in ‘Absence’ the atmosphere contradicts the way she is feeling and ‘Neutral Tones supports the way he is feeling. ‘Neutral Tones’ begins by it being a ‘winter day’ as in winter the weather is usually cold and bitter. Also everything is fairly lifeless; the sun is ‘white’ and the leaves that had fallen were ‘grey’. The ground is ‘starving’ which suggests that he was feeling lifeless and has no energy.
In ‘Absence’ there are words suggesting a settled feeling which is the opposite of how she is feeling towards her loss. The gardens are described as ‘well tended.’ This shows the gardens are cared for and as she has lost someone she feels uncared for. The ‘fountain sprayed their usual steady jet’ and there was a ‘level breeze’ although she is feeling unsettled. She mentions that the birds had ‘an ecstasy she could not share’ showing how the birds still show happiness even though she feels the opposite.
Thomas Hardy seems to have accepted his loss even though it has made him bitter.
He says ‘since then keen lessons that love deceives’ showing he has already learnt the lesson from it. He is clear about what has happened to him and at the time of the break up probably felt the same as the person in ‘Absence’ as he says ‘over tedious riddles of years ago’ indicating that he used to try and reason with the situation but it became ‘tedious’.
However in ‘Absence’ she is trying to rationalise the situation but is finding it hard to reason with the fact nothing else seems to be affected but her. She begins in the first stanza by saying ‘there was no sign that anything had ended’ as if she was expecting when she went back to where the two of them had been together everything would’ve been affected, which she feels doesn’t ‘instruct her to forget’, suggesting she doesn’t want to have to control the feeling of loss; she wants someone to instruct her to forget. She also describes the birds as ‘thoughtless’ as if she wanted them to sympathise with her. She describes her loss as ‘a savage force’ like the person was unfairly taken away from
her.
In both poems the people have had a loss although in ‘Absence’ the feelings are portrayed, as being more raw where as in ‘Neutral Tones’ his loss although making him bitter towards love, is not so upsetting.
In both poems Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Jennings they have lost a person they were close to. There are some similarities in their feeling but there responses are different. Neither poets can forget the experience and are reminiscing on the situation. They are both going back to the place where they were with the people they loved. However in ‘Absence’ she has actually gone to the place they were together and in ‘Neutral Tones’ he is remembering the time they where together.
“Neutral Tones” comes across as very negative. His language suggests that he has grown bitter towards love. He uses pessimistic words such as ‘grey’, ‘tedious’, ‘deadest’, ‘bitterness’, ‘ominous’ and ‘wrings’. It also suggests he is quite angry when he describes the sun …show more content…
as ‘white’ and ‘chidden of God.‘ This is also using pathetic fallacy as it reflects his feelings. He also states that ‘love deceives’ showing how cynical he has grown towards love and relationships.
Elizabeth Jennings poem is less cynical and angry. It is more sad than angry. It is also a lot more personal as if she is writing directly to the person she has lost. There is also mention of being shaken consistently though the poem. She describes it as ‘an earthquake’ which shows how devastated she’s feeling as an earthquake is quite dramatic. The birds are described as being ‘shook out of the trees’ which suggests forced discomfort to the birds just as she feels it is an unnatural loss. Also saying there was no ‘discord shake the level breeze.’ This is a contradiction to how she is actually feeling. On the last line of the poem it says she is ‘shaken by my thinking of your name’. The suggestion of being ‘shaken’ shows how out of place she feels about the person she loved not being with her anymore. Furthermore it suggests the person she has lost has died whereas in Thomas Hardys’ poem he appears to have had a relationship that has ended through a break up.
The environment is described fully in both poems. However in ‘Absence’ the atmosphere contradicts the way she is feeling and ‘Neutral Tones supports the way he is feeling. ‘Neutral Tones’ begins by it being a ‘winter day’ as in winter the weather is usually cold and bitter. Also everything is fairly lifeless; the sun is ‘white’ and the leaves that had fallen were ‘grey’. The ground is ‘starving’ which suggests that he was feeling lifeless and has no energy.
In ‘Absence’ there are words suggesting a settled feeling which is the opposite of how she is feeling towards her loss. The gardens are described as ‘well tended.’ This shows the gardens are cared for and as she has lost someone she feels uncared for. The ‘fountain sprayed their usual steady jet’ and there was a ‘level breeze’ although she is feeling unsettled. She mentions that the birds had ‘an ecstasy she could not share’ showing how the birds still show happiness even though she feels the opposite.
Thomas Hardy seems to have accepted his loss even though it has made him bitter.
He says ‘since then keen lessons that love deceives’ showing he has already learnt the lesson from it. He is clear about what has happened to him and at the time of the break up probably felt the same as the person in ‘Absence’ as he says ‘over tedious riddles of years ago’ indicating that he used to try and reason with the situation but it became ‘tedious’.
However in ‘Absence’ she is trying to rationalise the situation but is finding it hard to reason with the fact nothing else seems to be affected but her. She begins in the first stanza by saying ‘there was no sign that anything had ended’ as if she was expecting when she went back to where the two of them had been together everything would’ve been affected, which she feels doesn’t ‘instruct her to forget’, suggesting she doesn’t want to have to control the feeling of loss; she wants someone to instruct her to forget. She also describes the birds as ‘thoughtless’ as if she wanted them to sympathise with her. She describes her loss as ‘a savage force’ like the person was unfairly taken away from
her.
In both poems the people have had a loss although in ‘Absence’ the feelings are portrayed, as being more raw where as in ‘Neutral Tones’ his loss although making him bitter towards love, is not so upsetting.