neutral tones Flashcards
summary
the speaker is recounting meeting with a former lover at the side of a pond. It was winter when they met so the atmosphere is cold and deathlike showing that they no longer love each other.
hardy is mourning the end of his relationship by tying nature to his inner thoughts
themes
loss, longing, heartbreak, distrust
form and structure
- cyclical structure - both starts and ends at a pond. the relationship has
ended. but it also mirrors the pain that he continues to feel even though it is years later. it could also be inferred that the speaker is trying to move forwards but is unable to, with this poem being an attempt of reflecting on what went wrong - ABBA rhyme scheme implies that the speaker takes solace in regularity to deal with the
difficult emotions expressed in the poem. - the quatrains (stanzas of four lines) are in tetrameter which gives a faster pace than iambic tetrameter. this contrasts with the stagnant atmosphere of the poem. could also represent the four seasons
- pace of the poem is increased by hardy’s use of enjambment and then slowed down by
caesura. This creates a claustrophobic, limiting atmosphere
context
- hardy was unlucky in his relationships throughout his life, hence the depressing tone of his poems
neutral tones/ eden rock
+ both hardy and causley’s use of light imagery provides religious connotations. hardy describes a “white” sun which appeared “chidden of god”, this creates a similar ethereal environment to that
created by causley in the simile “The sky whitens as if lit by three suns”.
- in “eden rock”, causley attributes this heaven like imagery positive
connotations through the passive connotations of the enjambment
used in “leisurely, // they beckon to me”. conversely, in “neutral tones”, the light is used to create a cold, unforgiving atmosphere through its combination with the ominous, grey imagery in “they had fallen from an ash, and were grey.” and “a pond edged with greyish leaves”.
winter swans/neutral tones
+ colour imagery or the lack thereof is used in both poems to show a
lack of warmth between the characters. in “Neutral tones”, hardy depicts “a pond edged with greyish leaves” and a “white” sun. likewise, Sheers describes the “dark water” punctuated with
“icebergs of white feather”.
+ both poets create a sense of stagnancy in their work. steers does so
by describing the “stilling water” and the characters “slow-stepping” whilst they “skirted the lake”. similarly, hardy uses temporal deixis in “tedious riddles of years ago” as well as “wrings with wrong”.
+ the regular rhyme schemes in both poems show the speaker’s
continual suffering.
- in “neutral tones”, hardy shows that the relationship is clearly finished
through his use of death imagery in the metaphor “the smile on your
mouth was the deadest thing”. It could be interpreted however, in
“winter swans” that there is still life remaining in the relationship
through sheer’s use of reported speech in “’they mate for life’ you
said”
when we two parted/neutral tones
+ both speakers use morbid references to express their sadness. byron
does so through his use of auditory imagery in “a knell to mine ear”
and the lack of in “in silence I grieve”. hardy similarly uses the
metaphors “the smile on your mouth was the deadest thing” and “alive enough to have strength to die”.
+ the speaker’s sadness is further shown through the poet’s use of
phonetics. byron uses sibilance in “share in its shame” and “silence
and tears” whilst hardy uses the same technique in “bitterness swept thereby” and “keen lessons that love deceives”.
- in “neutral tones”, the speaker’s dejection is reflected in his negative
description of his surroundings. natural imagery usually has positive connotations however, here this is subverted in the syndetic listing in “your face, and the god curst sun, and a tree, // and a pond edged
with greyish leaves.”. opposingly, in “when we two parted”, the
speaker reflects on his internalised feelings in “in silence I grieve”
“we stood by a pond that winter day, / and the sun was white, as though chidden of god”
- pathetic fallacy - winter imagery - cold and sullen like the end of a relationship
- religious imagery - punished by god
- ‘white’ - drained of all colour or life is nothing like it was before
- symbolises a warning of death - remains of their relationship
“over tedious riddles of years ago”
- ‘riddles’ - metaphor for lack of confusion between them which probably led to tension, boredom
“the smile on your mouth was the deadest thing / alive enough to have the strength to die”
- tone of irony and sarcasm
- death imagery
- superlative
- ‘smile’ and ‘deadest’ - antithesis
- juxtaposes death and being alive
“a grin of bitterness swept thereby / like an ominous bird a-wing
- ‘grin of bitterness’ = oxymoron which may relate to a fake smile, false feelings or spite
- ‘like an ominous bird a-wing’ + ellipses - suggests that he has now been freed from entrapment
“your face, and the god-curst sun and a tree / and a pond edged with greyish leaves”
- cyclical but the leaves have become less grey as time has passed
- speaker is stuck in grief but has grown and developed as a person
- religious imagery again - cycle of grief
