An Analysis of Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy Essay

An Analysis of Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy We stood by a pond that winter day, (1) This line indicates a still quietness, with lack of the movement of life. There is a vast difference in appearance and movement around a pond in winter and a pond in the midst of summer. This indicates no leaves, and no visible signs of life. The poet is painting a stark and lifeless scene. And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,(2) This is indicative of the modernist approach to light as being too harsh and not a positive factor. Chidden means scolded, rebuked, or even blamed. God is not looking favorably upon these people. And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;(3) Leaves fall from trees when they are dead, and the†¦show more content†¦This stanza ties in with the first stanza and lets the reader know it is the beautiful love between these two people that is dying on this cold winter day. The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing(9) is a very telling line. She is pretending to be kind and to smile, but he sees through her and knows it is false. Her smile appears deader to him than the fallen leaves do. Alive enough to have strength to die; /And a grin of bitterness swept thereby (10-11). These lines show that the poet realizes some life in her smile, but not what he wants to see. There is a difference between a genuinely happy smile and a forced grin, and the latter is what he sees on her face. Like an ominous bird a-wing...(12) foretells her leaving him. He is seeing in her forced grin an omen of bad luck. Many people see owls as an omen of death if they hoot outside their window for seven nights in a row. It is in this sense that the poet speaks of her dead smile. Since then, keen lessons that love deceives, (13). This line is a reflective line from the poet on his feelings of her deceit toward him. He loved her and she broke his heart by lying to him. And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me(14) tells that she wronged him and changed him because of it. Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree, / And a pond edged with grayish leaves(15-16). He will never get out of his mind that moment in time. Her face, the sun, a tree,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Neutral Tones By Thomas Hardy1056 Words   |  5 Pagesto be completely numb. Throughout the following poems â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?†, â€Å"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun†, â€Å"The Flea†, and Thomas Hardy’s â€Å"Neutral Tones† the authors all share their experiences about love, with a major emphasis on the hardships that come with love. In Thomas Hardy’s poem â€Å"Neutral Tones† written in 1867, he reflects back on his past and the lessons he learned from it. By portraying his sadness throughout the poem he pushes the readers to recognizeRead MoreNeutral Tones by Thomas Hardy1653 Words   |  7 PagesNeutral Tones by Thomas Hardy (1867) Neutral Tones BY  THOMAS HARDY We stood by a pond that winter day, And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ They had fallen from an ash, and were gray. Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove Over tedious riddles of years ago; And some words played between us to and fro   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On which lost the more by our love. The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing Alive enough to haveRead MoreThomas Hardy Poems16083 Words   |  65 Pagesit joy lies slain, And why unblooms the best hope ever sown? --Crass Casualty obstructs the sun and rain, And dicing Time for gladness casts a moan.... These purblind Doomsters had as readily strown Blisses about my pilgrimage as pain. 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