On the Departure Platform Flashcards
Themes in the poem
The speaker remembers the departure in great detail. The tone is nostalgic and romantic - he reflects on how life has changed and moved on. She is just a woman, a lover from any time. Shows how we need to appreciate moments, people and emotions, because sometimes we don’t ever get them back.
“We kissed at the barrier; and passing through
She left me, and moment by moment got
Smaller and smaller, until to my view
She was but a spot;”
“We kissed at the barrier” - immediate juxtaposition between “kissed” (an image on union) and “barrier” (an image of separation, it is immediately noticed that he avoids going into detail about the kiss. This suggests that it is quick and disconnected. The speaker does not mention their relationship or past moments, only the aspect of leaving; which is immediately determined by the reader as a negative
“She left me” - short clause with emphasis, blunt
“moment by moment” “smaller and smaller” - repetition, representing slow passing of time, he is watching carefully until the very last moment when he can’t see her, shows how small the train gets by repeating “smaller”, showing his desperation
“spot” - rhyme emphasises how she is gone, small size of spot shows the speaker’s pain as he waits so long
“A wee, white spot of muslin fluff
That down the diminishing platform bore
Through hustling crowds of gentle and rough
To the carriage door
“wee, white spot of muslin fluff” - vernacular alliteration and childish, affectionate language reduces significance, yet also creates a more emotional image of vulnerability of the speaker, repetition of spot, emphasis, fluff is insubstantial
“diminishing platform” - not only is the train leaving, but so is the platform, along with the speaker’s lover
“Under the lamplight’s fitful glowers,
Behind dark groups from far and near,
Whose interests were apart from ours,
She would disappear,”
“fitful glowers” - fitful is an active adjective - which has connotations with something discordant or irregular, he can’t see clearly
“far and near” - groups of unknown people separate the speaker and the woman on the train
“Whose interests were apart from ours” - emphasises how these people are unknown and irrelevant, visually focuses on the speaker and the woman, also “apart’ vs “near”, contradiction of their emotional closeness with their physical distance
“disappear” - she is gone
“Then show again, till I ceased to see
That flexible form, that nebulous white,
And she who was more than my life to me
Had vanished quite”
“That flexible form, that nebulous white” - the woman is like a cloud, she can be seen and imagined but is out of reach for Hardy. Nebula, another name for a cloud - the woman has dissipated like a cloud does.
“white” - represents hope that she will return, non-existent, seems as though she is a free spirit, not wanting to be with him and stuck in the same place, yet he keeps hoping that she will return and what to stay
“she who was more than my life to me” - syntax, emphasis on woman, shows how dearly he cared about her, but past tense, shows how this was a long time ago, slightly obsessional about her
“Had vanished quite” - she has gone once again, “quite” sounds defeated and pensive, as though this was expected but he is still upset
“We have penned new plans since that fair fond day,
And in season she will appear again–
Perhaps in the soft white array–
But never as then !”
“fair fond” - emphasises the happiness in his memory
“in season” - implies that she used to always return at the same time in the year, whilst he was always waiting for her
“will” - definite, he knows she will return, as he always does
“soft white array” - again she will be with him, but not really there, as she has another life - the place she goes to when she is on the train
“–” - caesuras break up thoughts, as though he is thinking back to the good memories, builds up to exclamation
“But never as then!” - looks back fondly, links to final stanza and overall message of the poem of how no moment is the same, and we must treasure the memories
”–‘And why, young man, must eternally fly
A joy you’ll repeat, if you love her well?’
– O friend, nought happens twice thus; why,
I cannot tell!”
First half of stanza is another voice - perhaps an older Hardy speaking back to himself as a “young man” - asking the speaker why this love was so special, as love happens more than once if he “loves [another woman] well”
Second half of stanza is the speaker responding in a positive tone saying that “nought happens twice thus” - meaning that no two loves are the same and all good moments must be treasured. The speaker “cannot tell” why but it doesn’t seem to bother him
Structural points?
Each verse has simple ABAB rhyme scheme, but each verse has a different ABAB rhyme scheme - each rhyme is unique, emphasising the idea of unique love and moments
Personal response
I think the first five stanzas of this poem are simply telling the story of a man and a past relationship with a woman. It doesn’t really go into detail about the relationship, just about the speaker’s feelings of how she came and went. We get an image of the woman being distant and of the “young man” being so in love with her. I think on some levels, this poem, despite having strong themes about loss and leaving, is positive, showcasing the naivety of young love. Yet, it also has strong language about the pain of separation. The final message of the poem is how we should treasure moments, as people come and go, and no love is the same.
