Referring Closely to 2 Poems, Discuss the Poetic Methods Hardy Uses to Evoke Distinctive Settings in His Poem.
Q. Referring closely to 2 poems, discuss the poetic methods Hardy uses to evoke distinctive settings in his poem.
Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Ruined Maid’ is a poem about a young woman named Amelia who meets her old friend, and character foil, in town from her old life in the rural areas. As the poem progresses, with her friend making contrasting comparisons between how Amelia was and how she is now, we begin to realize that she had traded in her virtues to have, ironically at that era, a better life. Hardy evokes distinctive settings in the poem through his use of language and linguistics. Hardy’s ‘The Darkling Thrush’ is a desolate poem about a man who leans against his gate and cogitates on the human world. The poem explores the hopelessness of humanity as we progress through the poetry of Hardy’s dark mind and the question that follows: Is there hope? Through his clever use of sound devices and figurative language, Hardy successfully and subtly establishes a setting for his poem.
In ‘The Ruined Maid’, Amelia’s friend had mentioned terms such as “thik oon”, “theas oon” and “t’other”, words that are a regional dialect most commonly linked to the country life, which suggests that Amelia had previously lived in the rural areas before she came to “Town”. Another example that reinforces this thought is the differing ways of how Amelia and her friend speak. It is obvious, as her friend says “prosperi-ty” and “’ee” that Amelia is more sophisticated in the manner in which she speaks, suggesting how much Amelia has changed since leaving the ‘barton’ or farm. It also reinforces the idea of Amelia’s country life. Through his use of word choices, Hardy not only sets up Amelia’s previous life at the farm, but also her current life in the urban area. In ‘The Darkling Thrush’, imagery plays a very important role in the location of the poem. The frost is “spectre-gray”, which suggests the eeriness of the scene as well as establishing the dullness of the landscapes before him.
Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Ruined Maid’ is a poem about a young woman named Amelia who meets her old friend, and character foil, in town from her old life in the rural areas. As the poem progresses, with her friend making contrasting comparisons between how Amelia was and how she is now, we begin to realize that she had traded in her virtues to have, ironically at that era, a better life. Hardy evokes distinctive settings in the poem through his use of language and linguistics. Hardy’s ‘The Darkling Thrush’ is a desolate poem about a man who leans against his gate and cogitates on the human world. The poem explores the hopelessness of humanity as we progress through the poetry of Hardy’s dark mind and the question that follows: Is there hope? Through his clever use of sound devices and figurative language, Hardy successfully and subtly establishes a setting for his poem.
In ‘The Ruined Maid’, Amelia’s friend had mentioned terms such as “thik oon”, “theas oon” and “t’other”, words that are a regional dialect most commonly linked to the country life, which suggests that Amelia had previously lived in the rural areas before she came to “Town”. Another example that reinforces this thought is the differing ways of how Amelia and her friend speak. It is obvious, as her friend says “prosperi-ty” and “’ee” that Amelia is more sophisticated in the manner in which she speaks, suggesting how much Amelia has changed since leaving the ‘barton’ or farm. It also reinforces the idea of Amelia’s country life. Through his use of word choices, Hardy not only sets up Amelia’s previous life at the farm, but also her current life in the urban area. In ‘The Darkling Thrush’, imagery plays a very important role in the location of the poem. The frost is “spectre-gray”, which suggests the eeriness of the scene as well as establishing the dullness of the landscapes before him.