Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy

Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy

1. "That winter day" (pathetic fallacy)

   • Weather reflects they are emotionally cold towards each other

2. "Chidden of God"

   • Narrator sees everything in a negative way

3. "ash"

   • Their relationship has burnt out

4. "riddles...played...lost" (game imagery)

   • As their relationship is not fun but tedious and lost

5. "smile...deadest" (oxymoron)

   • Emphasises her lack of feeling towards him

6. "ominous bird a-wing" (imagery of a bird flying away)

   • Suggests the end of their relationship

7. "love deceives"

   • A pessimistic generalisation that all love is deceptive

8. "God-curst"

   • Stronger than 'chidden'
     • Suggests that the narrator has become more bitter over time

9. "And a pond"

   • Begins and ends with the pond
     • Suggests how the memory of that day still affects him