DURING WIND AND RAIN BY THOMAS HARDY-

ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION-
THOMAS HARDY-
Thomas Hardy was born in the year 1840, in Dorset. Being a
follower of Charles Dcikens, Hardy was a critic of the Victorian
society. Hardy is considered among the famous English writers,
and most of his works revolve around the tragidies caused by the
social circumstances.

DURING WIND AND RAIN-

"During Wind and Rain" by Thomas Hardy is a beautiful poem that
portrays the memories of the protagonist with his family.

SETTING OF THE POEM-

The poem is set around a house where a loving family lives. The
surroundings of the house have been mentioned, for instance
their breakfast picnic in garden.

POETIC DEVICES-
ALLITERATION-
"They sing their dearest songs—"

"They clear the creeping moss—"

"They are blithely breakfasting all—"

RHYME SCHEME-
"They sing their dearest songs— (A)

He, she, all of them—yea, (B)

Treble and tenor and bass, (C)

And one to play; (D)

With the candles mooning each face ... (E)

Ah, no; the years O! (F)

How the sick leaves reel down in throngs!" (A)

SUMMARY-
The poem has been written in third person with the protagonist
feeling a sense of nostalgia and thus, remembering the good times
he spent with his loving family. The speaker tells us that they used
to sing their favorite songs with one member playing a musical
instrument, a bass. This celebration was a routine occurence
where all the family sat together to enjoy themselves. The last line
takes a sad turn, the speaker remembering the time which
seperated the family. The mention of falling leaves during Autumn
provides a chilling imagery, suggestive of seperation due to death.
The speaker then remembers how the elders and junior members
used to clean the garden of moss together, building a bench to sit
on in the sun during winters. But now, the garden is empty, only
the winter birds return their, not his family. He remebers how all
the members, men and women used to have breakfast in early
mornings of the summer season, sitting under shade but now the
wild roses that grew on the wall have rotten, just like with the
time the family has gone. The speaker tells us that the family then
changes houses, they remove their belongings from the lawn to
move to a bigger, more luxurious house. He remembers the
"brightning" memories and with the passage of years, the home
of the family is now the graveyard. The speaker is shown standing
in the graveyard, watching rain drop on his family members' grave.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS-
The poem is a beautiful composition which highlights the
importance of memories, the strength of time and despite the
seemingly gloomy ending has a note of positivity to it. The vivid
imagery and the poet's regular mention of greenery and different
seasons provides the idea of regeneration and continuation of life.

TONE OF THE POEM-

The tone of the poem is both calm, happy and gloomy. The
speaker of the poem is feeling a sense of nostalgia, remembering
both the good times he spent with his family and the gloomy
moments of their death, accordingly, the tone of the poem moves
from being fond and happy to that of sadness and gloom.

CONCLUSION-
The poem is successful in reminding the readers of the
importance and strength of time and that the life goes on, the
earth regenerates itself. The time is both the creater and the
destroyer.