Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy
- Created by: castielhowlter
- Created on: 30-12-17 14:32
View mindmap
- Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy
- Hardy was interested in the origin of words and used archaic denotations to add underlying meanings
- Context: Hardy was influenced by the romantic poets and often employed natural imagery to convey emotions
- Cyclical structure beginning with 'grey' leaves and ending with 'greyish' leaves. This cycle portrays his inability to move on and, supported by the bleak natural imagery, his hopelessness of the futile relationship
- Form: a tight ABBA rhyme scheme is used, at the time widely associated with the best selling "In Memoriam" elegy, further subtly supporting the death of the relationship
- Bleak semantic field of death "winter""white" "starving" "grey" used creates pathetic fallacy conveying the dying relationship
- "Starving sod" sibilance shows bitterness and verb starving shows dying relationship
- "God-curst sun" presence of a wrathful deity drains hope from the situation, make relationship seem futile
- "pond" is a metaphor for reflection
- Antithesis "tedious riddles" shows trouble in relationship
- "Chidden of God" and "fallen from an ash" suggest their relationship deteriorated so badly it was rebuked by God himself
- "The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing" juxtaposition is disturbing and superlative suggest extreme anger
- "ominous" roots from latin omen-portrays an evil prophetic significance
- "Keen lessons" either implying lessons are sharp, painful and cut him or he's wailing for the death of the relationship
- "Wrings with wrong" alliteration show bitterness
Comments
No comments have yet been made