'a wife in london' - thomas hardy

Question 1

describe the context of the poem:

Answer 1

• Hardy was critical of Victorian society and London itself, as he felt it limited people’s lives and potential for happiness.
• anti-war (especially the Boer War and WW1).
• notion of fate features prominently in his work.

Question 2

describe the Boer War:

Answer 2

• second Boer war (British vs the two Boer states in Southern Africa).
• Hardy would have been roughly 60 years old when the war took place, so he would have only been able to stand back and watch.
• took place over the British Empire’s influence over parts of southern Africa. the British were initially overconfident and underprepared, perhaps causing the 22,000 British casualties.
• telegrams were used to transmit urgent and official news from the battlefront to Britain. less urgent news was sent by post.

Question 3

analyse the title, ‘A Wife in London’:

Answer 3

• indefinite article ‘a’ suggests there are many more people in a similar situation. the wife is generic, an every-wife. symbolises all the women in the same situation.
• by including ‘London’ in the title, it’s clear the poem will be about an English soldier. with London being England’s ‘heart’, this could allude to the love shared between the wife and her husband.

Question 4

analyse the first stanza:

Answer 4

imagery:
- ‘like a waning taper’ = like a candle burning down. image suggests the fragility of and imminent end of life, foreshadows the husband’s untimely death.
- ‘street lamp glimmers cold’ oxymoron. glimmer (heat, warmth) contrasts with cold, foreshadowing the sense of dread the wife will feel when she finds out her husband is dead. wife will never feel warm again, now that her husband is dead. coldness is often associated with death.

language:
- ‘the tragedy’ creates sense of foreboding and inevitability.
- ‘sits’ suggests wife is powerless. verb has connotations of inactivity and passiveness.
- ‘webby fold on fold’ refers to the fog, creating a sense of entrapment. sounds like a spider’s web. ‘tawny vapour’ is eerie, sinister. Hardy is criticising London?

Question 5

analyse the second stanza:

Answer 5

structure:
- poem split into two clear halves, could represent how the wife and soldier were separated as he went to war. could represent how her life has been halved by his death.
- ‘knock cracks’ repetitive consonance makes the phrase harsh and violent, much like the soldier’s death. how her husband’s death was a harsh interruption of the wife’s life.
- ‘of meaning it dazes to understand’ unusual syntax (word order) represents the wife’s shock. cannot comprehend the news.
- ‘he-has fallen-‘ dashes mimic the telegram. also slow down the poem’s pace (caesura), adding emotional weight to the line. emphasise the words contained.
- ellipsis suggests the wife cannot read anymore of the telegram, or the husband’s life.

language:
- ‘has fallen’ is euphemistic language. the wife cannot or will not accept the news - avoids thinking of her husband as dead?

Question 6

analyse the third stanza:

Answer 6

structure:
- ‘the irony’ is an intriguing title for the second part of the poem. indicates slight shift.

imagery:
- ‘fog hangs thicker’ pathetic fallacy associated with grief, sadness, depression, probably how the wife is feeling.
- ‘firelight flicker’ alliteration. suggests fragility of life, or inevitability of death.

language:
- ‘whom the worm now knows’ contrasts with ‘has fallen’. blunt language shows that wife is aware nothing will bring her husband back.

Question 7

analyse the poem’s final stanza:

Answer 7

structure:
- dashes call back to the telegram, contrasting its sad message with a happy message.

language:
- ‘fresh’, ‘firm’ - words we associate with life. indicates soldier’s vitality when he wrote the letter. ironic. positive tone ‘hoped return’ suggests the soldier was optimistic about war. reflecting confidence held by British soldiers at start of war.
- ‘jaunts’ = short excursion/journey. connotations of youth. emphasises the loss of the young soldier’s life.

Question 8

describe the mood throughout the poem:

Answer 8

negative, depressing mood found throughout the poem, reflecting the wife’s emotional distress. later, the poem is hopeful, as the wife reads her husband’s letter, promising ‘new love’. this happy tone is ironic, as the soldier is dead and his wife mourns.