Neutral Tones: Thomas Hardy

Neutral Tones: Thomas Hardy

1. 'We stood by a pond that winter day' - The weather reflects their feelings; they're emotionally cold towards each other. The fact that they aren't moving suggests that their relationship is at a standstill and it contributes to the lifeless atmosphere.

   • 'winter day' - Winter suggests things are coming to an end and it is a very cold atmosphere which reflects on the relationship.

2. 'And the Sun was white, as though chidden of God' - The sun is drained of warmth and colour; reflects how the love has drained from their relationship. However, white can mean pure & new beginnings for the both of them as they start their new lives without each other.

   • 'chidden' - Almost like God has scolded the Sun. This adds to the bleak mood of the poem, and hints that the narrator sees everything in a negative way.

3. 'a few leaves lay on the starving sod' - alliteration used here makes the words seem more drawn out, like their relationship. Also, use of alliteration 'starving sod' emphasises the impression of suffering - the lifeless ground reflects their dying relationship.

4. 'They had fallen from ash, and were grey' - 'ash' could mean ash from a fire which shows that their relationship has burned and died.

5. 'Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove over tedious riddles of years ago' - Enjambment mimics how her eyes move over his face. 'Rove' and 'over' look and sound similar which reflects the boredom she feels and she doesn't see him as her lover anymore.

6. 'And some words played between us to and fro' - The imagery that it is almost like a game highlights love should be fun and playful, but theirs became 'tedious' and they 'lost'.

7. 'The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing' - This oxymoron emphasises her complete lack of feelings towards him as a smile should be full of life.

   • 'Like an ominous bird a-wing...' - The ellipses '...' highlights the shift between stanzas. It represents the time when their relationship came to an end in the time that passes between stanzas 3 & 4.
     • 'the God-curst sun' - The 't' in 'curst' is a harsher sound than 'chidden' in the first stanza which hints the narrator has become more bitter over time.
       • 'And a pond edged with greyish leaves' - The poem begins and ends by the pond which shows this cyclical structure the narrator has used to show how the memory of that day still affects him. Also, the leaves are grey because they're rotting - this reflects how their love has decayed. The repetition of this colour from the first stanza emphasises the decay.
         • The fact that the leaves are grey 'ish' suggests that the leaves are beginning to get their colour back as they are both beginning their new lives without each other.

8. 'And a grin of bitterness swept thereby' - highlights the hatefulness and bitterness between them - reflecting their relationship. The verb 'swept' shows how quickly she has changed her feelings towards him

   • 'Since then, keen lessons that love deceives' - he has believed her lies and he makes a pessimistic generalisation that all love is deceiving. Also, the adjective 'keen' means sharp or strong meaning these lessons have been painful for him.

9. Form - The first and last lines of each stanza rhyme which reflects how the memory of a past experience returns to affect the narrator in the present. The indented final line of each stanza slows the pace of the poem by creating a pause - this hints at his sadness that the relationship has failed.

10. Structure - The first three stanzas centre around a specific memory, then there's a time jump to the final stanza where the narrator reflects on love in general. The poem ends where it began. This cyclical structure represents how he's been repeatedly hurt by love since that day by the pond.

11. Language About Suffering - It's clear that the narrator feels strong emotions about that day at the pond - he uses language associated with pain, death and punishment which shows that he's hurt by what happened.

12. Language about lifelessness - The 'neutral' tone shows the lack of love between the two of them. The death of their relationship and his lack of hope are reflected in the landscape - it's bleak, decaying and cold.