Thomas Hardy: The Poems

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Gillian Steinberg offers an approachable introduction to the poems of one of the most prolific and influential English writers, through an examination of wide-ranging selections from his work.

Part I of this invaluable study:
- Provides clear and stimulating close readings of Thomas Hardy's key poems
- Considers major themes in Hardy's poetry, including ghosts, God's role in the world, war, and the painful passage of time
- Summarizes the methods of analysis and provides suggestions for further work

Part II supplies essential background material, featuring:
- An account of Hardy's life and works
- Samples of criticism from important Hardy scholars

With a helpful Further Reading section, this insightful volume is ideal for anyone who wishes to appreciate and explore Hardy's poetry for themselves.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• General Editor's Preface (p. x)
• Acknowledgments (p. xi)
• A Note on the Text (p. xiii)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• The Scope of this Volume (p. 1)
• Terms and Definitions (p. 3)
• How to Read the Poems (p. 5)
• Part 1 Analysing Thomas Hardy's Poems
• 1 Poet as Storyteller (p. 11)
• Stories (p. 11)
• At Casterbridge Fair (p. 11)
• "Ice on the Highway" (p. 14)
• Setting (p. 16)
• "The Bride-Night Fire" (p. 16)
• "The Ruin'd Maid" (p. 19)
• Character (p. 23)
• "Ah, Are you Digging on My Grave?" (p. 23)
• "The Country Wedding" (p. 27)
• Dialogue (p. 32)
• "The Curate's Kindness" (p. 33)
• Concluding Discussion (p. 37)
• Methods of Analysis (p. 40)
• Suggested Work (p. 42)
• 2 Ghosts (p. 44)
• "Your Last Drive" (p. 44)
• "I Have Lived with Shades" (p. 48)
• "The Haunter" and "The Voice" (p. 52)
• "Beeny Cliff" and "The Phantom Horsewoman" (p. 59)
• Concluding Discussion (p. 64)
• Methods of Analysis (p. 70)
• Suggested Work (p. 71)
• 3 God, Man, and the Natural World (p. 72)
• "Hap" (p. 73)
• "The Darkling Thrush" (p. 77)
• "Nature's Questioning" (p. 81)
• "On a Fine Morning" (p. 86)
• "To an Unborn Pauper Child" (p. 89)
• "The Convergence of the Twain" (p. 93)
• Comparative Discussion (p. 99)
• Concluding Discussion (p. 99)
• Methods of Analysis (p. 103)
• Suggested Work (p. 104)
• 4 War and Its Casualties (p. 105)
• "I Looked Up from My Writing" (p. 106)
• "The Going of the Battery" and "A Wife in London" (p. 110)
• "In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'" (p. 118)
• "The Man He Killed" (p. 123)
• "Channel Firing" (p. 128)
• Concluding Discussion (p. 132)
• Methods of Analysis (p. 135)
• Suggested Work (p. 136)
• 5 The Self and Time (p. 137)
• "Afterwards" (p. 138)
• "During Wind and Rain" (p. 139)
• "The Self-Unseeing" and "At Castle Boterel" (p. 144)
• "The House of Hospitalities" (p. 151)
• "The Going" (p. 154)
• "I Look Into My Glass" (p. 159)
• Comparative Discussion (p. 161)
• Concluding Discussion (p. 162)
• Methods of Analysis (p. 164)
• Suggested Work (p. 165)
• Part 2 The Context and the Critics
• 6 Hardy's Life and Works (p. 169)
• A Biographical Outline (p. 169)
• Novelist to Others; Poet to Himself (p. 170)
• A Man of Many Genres (p. 172)
• Reading a Literary Life (p. 174)
• Poems of 1912-13: How and Why We Read Poems (p. 176)
• Hardy's Place in Literary History (p. 180)
• Hardy the Victorian (p. 181)
• Hardy the Romantic (p. 184)
• Hardy the Modernist (p. 186)
• 7 Critical Views (p. 188)
• Early Twentieth-Century Critical Views (p. 189)
• Mid-century Criticism (p. 192)
• Poets on Hardy (p. 194)
• Four Critics in Depth (p. 196)
• Samuel Hynes (p. 197)
• Dennis Taylor (p. 201)
• Norman Page (p. 204)
• Susan M. Miller (p. 207)
• Further Reading (p. 211)
• Notes (p. 219)
• List of Works Cited (p. 226)
• Index (p. 235)