Neutral Tones Flashcards
What is the poem about?
The speaker recounts a meeting with his former love near a pond.
What is the form of the poem?
Pace of the poem is increased by use of enjambment but then is slowed by caesura, creating a limiting and claustrophobic atmosphere.
ABBA regular rhyme scheme
Quatrains are in iambic tetrameter making the pace faster than the stagnant pace of the words.
What is the structure of the poem?
Starts and ends in the sample place (pond). Cyclical structure to show never-ending pain. Speaker is trying to move forward but can not.
Natural setting to explanation of relationship between stanzas.
What is the context of the poem?
Hardy faced bad luck in relationships so this is reflected in the poem.
Who wrote the poem?
Thomas Hardy
What does the title of the poem suggest?
Neutral- Monochrome, lack of strong emotions
Tones- Tone is major or minor and a sound, atonal (not written in any key or mode) links to confusion
Finish and analyse the quote: “They had fallen __________ and were ______” LINE 4
“They had fallen from ash and were grey”
-desolate and sombre atmosphere
-“ash” from a fire showing their relationship is burnt out or ash tree which symbolised magic, healing and life but here is the lack of
-“grey” neutrality and indifference to what used to be
What can be said about the lack of metaphors in the poem?
Hardy wants to show the harsh reality of the loss of the relationship
What can be said about the death imagery in the poem? THIRD STANZA
(SMILE OF LOVER)
“deadest thing”
-creates bleak atmosphere
-morbid and shows how something that should have been joyful has been reduced to something torturous reflective of their relationship
-oxymoronic
“alive enough to have strength to die”
-juxtaposition
-she chose to let her smile die just as with the relationship
What can be said about the natural imagery in the poem? FIRST STANZA
“winter day”
-lack of light and colour in the environment and relationship
-marks the end but also looking towards spring which brings a fresh start
“starving sod”
-sibilant alliteration
-personifies the soil to be miserable and dejected
PESSIMISTIC
What can be said about the colour imagery in the poem?
Demonstrates speaker’s negativity. Implies characters are apathetic together. Lack of colour=impassivness/numbness
What is the last line of the poem?
“And a pond edged with greyish leaves”
What can be said about the last line of the poem?
“pond”
-cyclical to show the memory still affects him
“greyish leaves”
-grey leaves as they are rotten just as their love is decaying
-repetition from first stanza emphasis decay
What is one line that reflects the speakers pessimism?
“love deceives”
