At the Word Farewell Flashcards
Context of poem
Thomas Hardy’s poem ‘At the Word ‘Farewell’’ was published in 1917, about five years after the death of his wife Emma. The poem is based on the first meeting of the couple and Hardy writes in such a way that it could almost be a eulogy for Emma. The poem is about the almost ethereal presence of Emma and how they fell in love.
Structural points?
There is a regular repeating rhyme scheme ABABCDCD, although the line length fluctuates throughout the poem - almost regular but not quite, adds to the uneasy and ghostly nature of the poem
“She looked like a bird from a cloud
On the clammy lawn,
Moving alone, bare-browed
In the dim of the dawn”
“bird from a cloud” - makes her seem free, like a mythological, heavenly creature, yet also temporary
“clammy” - describing dew covered grass, early morning, yet has connotations of nervousness and anxiety making it seem slightly unpleasant
“lawn” - more earthly, the heavenly creature on the earth
“moving” - not walking, or standing, makes her seem more ghostly, less human
“dim of the dawn” - alliteration, emphasis placed on dim and dawn, “dim” has connotations of darkness whereas “dawn” has connotations of new day and light and hope - contrast, shows his unclear and confused state of mind
“The candles alight in the room
For my parting meal
Made all things withoutdoors loom
Strange, ghostly, unreal.”
“candles” - calm, connotations of religion, give some light, hope, however it is dim light, link to “dim”, again contrast as can be positive and negative
“alight” - sudden burst of light, hope and joy
“room” - trapped space, yet with a scene of hope
“my parting meal” - connotations of death
“withoutdoors loom” - “withoutdoors” means outdoors, saying how the candles are making shadows from outside e.g. trees “loom” into the room
“Strange, ghostly, unreal” - caesuras, emphasis placed on each word, unsettling, blunt
“The hour itself was a ghost,
And it seemed to me then
As of chances the chance furthermost
I should see her again.”
“hour” - set time, certainty, juxtaposes with ghost, implies time isn’t real, and it’s fading
“was” - fading memories, past tense
“ghost” - death, time is just fading away and doesn’t really exist, he is trapped in his own mind, lugubrious
“As of chances the chance furthermost” - repetition of ‘chances’ and ‘chance’, showing the unlikelihood of seeing the woman again, but the line is juxtaposed with itself, due to ‘furthermost’ meaning that the meeting is inevitable.
“I beheld not where all was so fleet
That a plan of the past
Which had ruled us from birthtime to meet
Was in working at last:”
“fleet” “meet” - lighter meanings and sounds than last verse, brings life to the verse
“plan” - Hardy believed strongly in fate, so he may have thought that this was destined to happen. This idea is emphasised by ‘ruled us from birthtime’
“prelude”
musical, spiritual, showing us something is about to happen
“But I rose as if quicked by a spur
I was bound to obey,
And stepped through the casement to her
Still alone in the gray”
“rose” - quick, sudden, shock, connotations of the afterlife
“spur” - sudden pain, forced to rise by some unknown force
“as if quicked by a spur” - physical image even though it is all in his head, no one is really forcing him
“I was bound to obey” - as if he is in a trance, being haunted by a spirit, dark image
“stepped through the casement to her” - it suggests going into another world solely to see her because he is so drawn to her
"”I am leaving you….Farewell!” I said,
As I followed her on
By an alley bare boughs overspread;
“I soon must be gone””
"”I am leaving you….Farewell!” - slight volta in the poem, assertive, he is finally saying goodbye to her, or it could be him saying goodbye to the world as he follows her metaphorically into the afterlife, exclamation mark shows his breakthrough of emotion
“….” - the caesura breaks up the goodbye, as if maybe for a second he is questioning it, shows his desperation, doubt in his previous certainty, adds to uneasy mood of poem
“As I followed her on” - undermines first line, he can’t bring himself to leave her, or he is just following her after he has decided to leave the world
“alley” - dark and narrow, dangerous
“bare boughs” - empty, lack of any leaves, should be a romantic image but they are “bare” which forces negativity
Whole image makes it seem very dreamlike as this is supposed to be the distant past and a memory but he is also describing his death, contradiction, doesn’t really make sense
“Even then the scale might have been turned
Against love by a feather,
- But crimson one cheek of hers burned
When we came in together”
“Even then” - links to “But” in third stanza - the pattern of assertion and contradiction, first half of the verse asserts an image and second half dissolves his certainty, he wants to assert something but always undermines it - represents his state of mind, can’t think positive
“feather” - shows the fragility of love, and also how he doesn’t really know why they grew apart, it could have been anything
“crimson one cheek of hers is burned” - syntax, confusion, places emphasis on crimson and burned
“crimson” - red colour, connotations of love and passion
“burned” - harsh word, connotations of fire and death, dramatic way to describe her blushing, links to the candle
“feather” “together” - feminine rhyme, ends poem with a lightness and union showing how they strengthen each other, however could be seen as the feather is so light and insubstantial that it weakens “together” but an overall positive end to the poem
Personal response
I think there are many ways to try and understand Hardy in this poem. It can be seen as him describing the memories of when he first met Emma but it also seems as though he is seeing ghostly images of her after her death, giving it a strong dreamlike quality. The contradiction throughout the poem, in both the language and structure, could show how he is trying to recount positive memories of Emma but they keep being undermined with his dark, negative emotions about her death and her going. He is lost and is longing for her love, making it a struggle for him to be positive. The poem is also about what the true meaning of saying goodbye is, and how no matter how good the memories and moments are, there will always be the inevitability of the “farewell”.
