A Critical Analysis of Hardy's The Voice

Prepared by Omar Osman Jabak

Thomas Hardy is known to be a transitional poet between classicism and

romanticism. In this short poem, he is lovelorn or lovesick as he tells us a wonderful
story in miniature. It is a love story, though not a successful one. As the poem
implies, Hardy's beloved has deserted him and their love seems to have been no more
than calf love especially on her part. This sad experience, however, puts Hardy in a
state of uncertainty.
In the first stanza, Hardy is about to leave his town when he imagines a voice calling
him from afar, and he hastens to think that it is his beloved's voice calling him to
come back. However, in that emotionally tense moment, he remembers that his lady
has unfortunately been a fair weather lover. This indication is clear at the end of the
stanza when he says" But as at first, when our day was fair." Then he asks to see the
woman who utters this voice to make sure that it is the same as his beloved's. Again,
he starts recalling the old good days when she used to wait for him at the outskirts of
the town. It is clear that Hardy misses her a lot.
Then he wakes up to the fact that this is the sound of the wind blowing. In this stanza,
he realizes his nostalgia, and he feels that there is no voice calling him. It is a voice he
wishes for. That is it. Because he is obsessed with the image of his mistress waiting
for him over the hills, he can't imagine himself deprived of her.
In the last stanza, as Hardy is moving forward to continue his journey out of town, he
hears leaves drop on the earth and the wind blow around. He thinks that this voice
calls him back. So the poem ends exactly the way it begins. The poet misses his
beloved very much; perhaps his love for her is true and beyond any doubt.
The poem is replete with descriptions that appeal to almost all the senses as if Hardy
wants to make us share his experience with all our senses. He also uses some stylistic
devices so as to make this poem sound like a lyric or a song. Alliteration and
assonance seem to run all through the poem ( much missed / would wait / is it / in it /
wan witlessness / faltering forward / thin through the thorn are all examples of
alliteration ) and ( view you / knew you ) are examples of assonance . Besides, the
repetition of some fragments such as " call to me, call to " in the first stanza is light on
the ear and appears to be melodious. In addition, the rhyme scheme ( a b a b) that runs
through the whole poem has a musical impact on the reader in order that he/she
interacts with the poem. So both the form and meaning of the poem are so beautifully
interwoven so as to bring about the overall effect of the poem on the reader.
In a word, I personally think that " The Voice " is a pictorial lyric miniaturizing a
pretty long love story that unfortunately does not culminate in perpetual happy
marriage due to the beloved's desertion. Yet, the poem reflects Hardy's sincerest
passion for his lady and highlights his nostalgia for the old days with his beloved. In
fact, Hardy excels in putting his mixed feelings into a terse poem, and lucky are those
who can give voice to their feelings so concisely, but beautifully!

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