Neutral Tones

	Neutral Tones ''"Neutral Tones"'' is a poem written by Thomas Hardy in 1867. Forming part of his 1898 collection ''Wessex Poems and Other Verses ''Wessex Poems and Other Verses'' (often referred to simply as ''Wessex Poems'') is a collection of fifty-one poems set against the bleak and forbidding Dorset landscape by English writer Thomas Hardy. It was first published in London and New ...'', it is the most widely praised of his early poems. It is about the end of a relationship, and carries strong emotional appeal despite its "neutral tones". Text Analysis ''"Neutral Tones"'' by Thomas Hardy is very neutral in tone; its melancholic note is created by a narrator reflecting on the termination of a relationship. Throughout, a soothing yet depressing language illustrates this duality. Hardy uses a variety of techniques to highlight sadness and emotions in the narrator. In the first stanza the scene and atmosphere is set, "we stood by a pond that winter day". No harsh sounds are present ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wordsworth. He was highly critical of much in Victorian society, especially on the declining status of rural people in Britain, such as those from his native South West England. While Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet, his first collection was not published until 1898. Initially, he gained fame as the author of novels such as '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1874), ''The Mayor of Casterbridge'' (1886), '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' (1891), and ''Jude the Obscure'' (1895). During his lifetime, Hardy's poetry was acclaimed by younger poets (particularly the Georgians) who viewed him as a mentor. After his death his poems were lauded by Ezra Pound, W. H. Auden and Philip Larkin. Many of his novels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Wessex Poems And Other Verses ''Wessex Poems and Other Verses'' (often referred to simply as ''Wessex Poems'') is a collection of fifty-one poems set against the bleak and forbidding Dorset landscape by English writer Thomas Hardy. It was first published in London and New York in 1898 by Harper Brothers, and contained a number of illustrations by the author himself. Reception The collection met a broadly hostile reception, critics being accustomed to Hardy as a (controversial) writer of prose alone. Hardy himself was taken aback by the failure to recognise his dry humour, as in the (slightly bawdy) 'Bride-Night Fire'. On a more personal note, his wife Emma disliked the section consisting of love lyrics to various recipients; and especially 'The Ivy Wife', which she felt aimed at her. Notable poems Two notable early poems from the collection (1860s) were " Hap" and 'Amabel' - the latter exploring the theme of sexual attraction impacted by age taken up by The Well-Beloved. 'She at His Funeral' was a tribut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Ominous An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages from the gods. These omens include natural phenomena, for example an eclipse, abnormal births of animals (especially humans) and behaviour of the sacrificial lamb on its way to the slaughter. Specialists, known as diviners, variously existed to interpret these omens. They would also use an artificial method, for example, a clay model of a sheep liver, to communicate with their gods in times of crisis. They would expect a binary answer, either yes or no, favourable or unfavourable. They did these to predict what would happen in the future and to take action to avoid disaster. Though the word ''omen'' is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad", the term is more often used in a forebodin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	1898 Poems Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island. * January 13 – Novelist Émile Zola's open letter to the President of the French Republic on the Dreyfus affair, ''J'Accuse…!'', is published on the front page of the Paris daily newspaper ''L'Aurore'', accusing the government of wrongfully imprisoning Alfred Dreyfus and of antisemitism. * February 12 – The automobile belonging to Henry Lindfield of Brighton rolls out of control down a hill in Purley, London, England, and hits a tree; thus he becomes the world's first fatality from an automobile accident on a public highway. * February 15 – Spanish–American War: The USS ''Maine'' explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor, Cuba, for reasons never fully established, killing 266 me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Poetry By Thomas Hardy Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, a prosaic ostensible meaning. A poem is a literary composition, written by a poet, using this principle. Poetry has a long and varied history, evolving differentially across the globe. It dates back at least to prehistoric times with hunting poetry in Africa and to panegyric and elegiac court poetry of the empires of the Nile, Niger, and Volta River valleys. Some of the earliest written poetry in Africa occurs among the Pyramid Texts written during the 25th century BCE. The earliest surviving Western Asian epic poetry, the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', was written in Sumerian. Early poems in the Eurasian continent evolved from folk songs such as the Chinese ''Shijing'', as well as religious hymns (the Sanskrit '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]