Poems about Emma

In these poems Hardy explores the guilt he feels for his neglect of Emma, his first wife,
over the latter years of their marriage. He uses his writing to absolve himself of this guilt
and come to terms with it.

The Going
The Going, like most of the pieces in this section, is written in the first person - here
Hardy evidently speaks for himself. The poem is in the form of a monologue addressed to
Emma, containing many questions. She alone can give the answers.

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Detailed commentary

Hardy asks Emma why she did not alert him to her imminent death, but left him “as if
indifferent quite” to his feelings, without bidding him farewell: neither softly speaking
words of parting, nor even asking him to speak a last word to her. He notes how, as the
day dawned, he was unaware of what was happening to his wife, and of how this “altered
all”.

Hardy asks Emma why she compels him to go outside, making him think, momentarily,
that he sees her figure in the dusk, in the place where she used to stand, but ultimately
distressing him as, in the gathering gloom, he sees only “yawning blankness” and not the
familiar figure of Emma.

Turning back to the days when Emma's youth and beauty captivated him, Hardy wonders
why, in later years, the joys of their courtship were neither remembered nor revived. He
imagines how they might have rekindled their love by revisiting the places where they
met while courting.

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Finally Hardy concedes that what has happened cannot be changed and that he is as good
as dead, waiting for the end ( “to sink down soon” ) and, in conclusion, informs Emma
that she could not know how so sudden and unexpected a passing as hers could distress
him as much as it has.

The metre of the poem is surprisingly lively, though the rhythm breaks down in the
disjointed syntax and brief sentences of the final stanza. The brief rhyming couplet in the
penultimate two lines of each stanza exaggerate this jauntiness, which seems rather
inappropriate to the subject of the piece.

Though the reader sympathises with Hardy's evident grief, it is difficult not to be a little
impatient with his tendency to wallow in self-pity. He reproaches Emma for leaving him,
and thinks despairingly of his and her failure to rekindle, in later years, their youthful
affection. Yet we feel that this is a tragedy largely of his own making. He has, after all,
had some forty years in which to “seek/That time's renewal”. The fact that he expresses
regret at his failure to do so only when the possibility has been removed by Emma's death
casts doubt upon the sincerity of his grief.

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The Haunter
Imaginatively, and most pathetically, Hardy writes this plaintive and moving poem from
the point of view of Emma. It is written in the first person, with her as the imaginary
narrator. It is almost as if, in putting these words in the mouth of Emma (who, in the
poem, sees Hardy as oblivious of her presence) Hardy is trying to reassure himself that
she forgives him and continues to love him.

Detailed commentary

Though Hardy does not know it, Emma's phantom follows him in his meanderings,
hearing, but unable to respond to, the remarks he addresses to her in his grief. When
Emma was able to answer Hardy did not address her so frankly; when she expressed a
wish to accompany him Hardy would become reluctant to go anywhere - but now he does
wish she were with him. She is, but he does not know this, even though he speaks as if to
Emma's “faithful phantom”.

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Hardy's deep love of nature appears in his choice of the places where he walks, the haunts
of those given to reverie (daydreaming or contemplation): where the hares leave their
footprints, or the nocturnal haunts of rooks. He also visits “old aisles” - are these literally
the aisles of churches or natural pathways in woods and copses? In all these places
Emma's ghost keeps as close as “his shade can do”. “Shade” is ambiguous: it is used here
to mean “shadow” (Emma is as close as his own shadow to Hardy) but the term more
usually means “ghost” - which is evidently very appropriate here. Again, Emma notes
that she cannot speak to Hardy, however hard she may strive to do so.

Emma implores the reader to inform Hardy of what she is doing, with the almost
desperate imperative: “O tell him!” She attends to his merest sigh, doing “all that love
can do” in the hope that “his path” may be worth the attention she lavishes on it, and in
the hope that she may bring peace to Hardy's life. The lyrical trochaic metre and subtly
linked rhyme scheme seem in keeping with the optimistic content of the poem, unlike
The Going, in which the liveliness jars with the sombre, self-pitying character of the
piece. In The Going Hardy reproaches Emma, for leaving him without warning. Here he
celebrates her essential fidelity and benevolence, which she retains, even in death. While
the idea of Emma as the faithful phantom is, of course, entirely fanciful, it is strikingly
plaintive and touching.

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The Voice
As in The Haunter Hardy imagines Emma trying to communicate with him. The poem is
in the first person, and Hardy is the speaker, imagining that Emma calls to him. She tells
him that she is not the woman she had become after forty years of marriage, but has
regained the beauty of her youth, of the time when her and Hardy's “day was fair”.
Detailed commentary

Imagining he can indeed hear her, Hardy implores Emma to appear to him, in the place
and wearing the same clothes that he associates with their early courtship. Hardy
introduces, in the third stanza, the mocking fear that all he hears is the wind and that
Emma's death has marked the end of her existence - that she has been “dissolved” and
will be “heard no more”.

The lively anapaestic metre of the first three stanzas gives way, in the final stanza, to a
less fluent rhythm, capturing the desolate mood of Hardy as he falters forward, while the
leaves fall and the north wind blows, as Emma (if it is she) continues to call.

The poem begins optimistically with a hope that Emma is really addressing Hardy. But
by the end, a belief or fear that the “voice” is imaginary has replaced this hope. Though
the vigorous anapaestic metre of the poem helps convey this initial hope, it proves
unwieldy for Hardy, as is evident in the clumsy third stanza, where “listlessness” rhymes
with Hardy's unfortunate coinage (invented word) “existlessness”, and we find the
gauche and repetitious phrase “no more again” in the stanza's final line.
It's about his refusal to accept the death of his wife. He is so caught up in his desire for
her still that he almost thinks he can hear her voice talking to him.
Hardy’s last stanza is much shorter in its composition to the previous three stanzas, and is
Hardy’s attempt to regain order in his life by moving on “faltering forward”. The
difficulty Hardy feels in doing so is mirrored in the arrangement of punctuation - by
placing a semi-colon immediately after “Thus I”, the phrase “faltering forward” is
stressed. This combined with its use of alliteration alerts the reader to how significant the
phrase is. It is Hardy’s attempt to accept the inevitability of death and move on with life.

| Posted on 2009-08-25 | by a guest

.: :.

The voice,is written by Thomas Hardy after the death of his wife Emma. This poem is in
the form of a 1st person narrative as Hardy contemplates whether he can hear his dead
wife's voice or not. This poem is written in 4 stanzas and the first three stanzas are
written in the from of an anapestic metre. This conveys Hardy's inital hope as he believes
he can her his wife's voice. However, this behaviour is a natural coping method as Hardy
comes to term with the death of his wife. One of the most poignant lines in the poem is
"Even in the original air blue gown" Hardy has powerful dillusions of Emma when she
was youth full of radiance and beauty. This could also be interpreted as Hardy seeing a
phantom or spectre whom he believes to be his wife. This line however does not fit into
the rest of the poem so it conforms to some ambiguity. In addition the words such as
"wistlesness and listlesness" as add to the ethereal atmosphere of the peom. The last line,
" and the woman calling" relates to how Hardy still reminises his wife Emma when he
first met her and how these memories are still following him, despite the shift in time.
The last stanza however is less fluent and alsmost chaotic in terms of the use of pathetic
fallacy, " leaves faltering forward". This reflects on Hardy's mood and decision thst he
must move forward and comes to a realsation that the voice is imaginary. Subsequently,
conveying Hardy's desolation at the end of the poem. This contrasts to the beggining of
the poem as it is optimistic.

| Posted on 2009-05-18 | by a guest

.: :.

thanks for the analysis peeps.

its awesome for my stupid english literature exam.
THANK YOU A TON.

| Posted on 2009-04-28 | by a guest

.: :.

As i know .. Hardy 's relationship was not very good at the time, and things were
complicated, and he didnt care for her when she was sick. So he wrote this poem due to
his guilt, that he lacked the care to his wife. After her death he starts having painful
dilusions and starts imagining his wife, Emma, calling for him, and that he's actually
hearing her voice.
He used different poetry techniques that help the reader understand things easier, he uses
alliteration, sibilance, repitition etc. He says in the very first like "call to me, call to me"
which suggests that he's imaginig her trying to communicate with him, and that he's
hearing his dead wife's voice in the sound of the wind. The memory of her is haunting
him, and this shows that he can't stop thinking about her, and that he totally falling apart
.. the very last line says "and the woman calling" which conveys that the memories of the
wonderful days they had when they first met, are following him, and this gives a ghostly
feeling to the poem.

| Posted on 2009-04-25 | by a guest

.: :.

Hardy is coming to terms with the death of his estranged wife. He obviously is somewhat
lost without her and grieving has left him with memories that appear to play tricks on his
mind. He can hear her voice, but whether it is out of longing or guilt is unclear. Is the
wind taunting him, or is she taunting him?
They loved each other but it was a destructive love; perhaps the most powerful kind.
Maybe the wind was to blow that pain away or was it a part of the force of destructive
nature that was their relationship.
The last stanza is chaotic. The wind has blown it all apart. The repetitive vowel sounds,
however, create some unity as they link each word together. The words merge. They
become the wind; they become the echoing voice.

| Posted on 2008-12-06 | by a guest

.: :.

I don't like this poem. It's way tooo simple. I prefer nursery rhymes

| Posted on 2008-11-25 | by a guest

.: :.

I don't think it's a positive poem at all. The anapaestic rhythm in the first three stanzas
creates an uplifting and hopeful atmosphere as Hardy thinks he can actually hear Emma
but then in the forth stanza a less fluent rhythm is used and Hardy describes himself as
"faltering forward" which reflects his desolate mood. Also, Neutral Tones wasn't even
about Hardy and Emma so the two poems aren't contextually linked.

| Posted on 2008-11-18 | by a guest

.: :.

I thought this poem was, in some aspects, quite positive in the way Hardy thinks about
his wife. He thinks of her in a positive way, in contrast to 'Neutral Tones' which portrays
the couple at their worst. Hardy is reminiscing about when they first encountered
eachother and how he likes to remember her when he says 'as I knew you then' and 'when
our day was fair'. I thought that 'Even to the original air-blue gown!' was what she might
have worn in the days where they were first falling for eachother. In the first stanza, in
the third line, I think Hardy was trying to say that he had suddenly remembered her how
he loved her and what she was like when he fell in love with her, and the idea of a voice
was really just a very vivid memory that may have been positive but haunts him, as he is
trying to move on with his life.

| Posted on 2008-11-04 | by a guest

.: The Voice :.

Hardy & his wife Emma were seperated at the time of her sudden unexpected death. He
wrote several poems which reflect the stages of grief he is experiencing and this is largely
believed to be the poem he wrote at the point of recovery.
He refers to hearing his wife calling him as he is alone and the "air blue gown" she wears
reflects her potential to just dissapear like air. Also the breeze taunting him could also be
interpreted as Emma because he can feel its presence but the breeze is indescribable and
it cannot be touched or held like he wants to. Critics have suggested that the voice could
be calling him into death and hardy is contemplating suicide, before recovering.
In the last stanza he realises he can't go on seeing his wife in places she doesn't exist. She
is dead and although he will always think of her he can't change the terms on which they
parted and he feels alone and depressed.
Hope this helps with some background info to go on =]

| Posted on 2008-04-11 | by a guest

.: :.

"Even to the origional airblue gown" is one of the greatest inventive lines in poetry. The
image Hardy conjurs in the mind of a woman wearing a colorful gown in wet field on a
windy night can only be that of a phantom or spectre. Hardy further impacts the scene
through his use of a contrasting meter. The line does not fit onto the rest of the poem
enforcing the strange ambiguity of the scene. The result is jarring.

| Posted on 2007-12-25 | by a guest

.: The Voice -Thomas Hardy :.

This 'gohst story' is dedicated to his dead wife. He can hear her voice and recollects a
time of joy. He falteres forward, yearning to be with her again. He has been left alone,
questioning his own existence. The only way he can continue, is to live and to stumble
on.

| Posted on 2007-07-19 | by a guest

.: :.

Throughout all Hardy's poems about his first wife he is unable to accept her death. When
they were first together they were in love but shortly after that grew sour. Hardy had an
affair with Florence who became his second wife. However, Hardy is overcome with
guilt at Emma's death when he didn't get the opportunity to say goodbye or to tell her that
in fact he did really love her and wishes they could have been happy in her final days.
Instead of admitting his fault he likes to blame Emma as he unable to cope with the large
amount of blame he feels himself. He pretends that Emma knew she was going to die and
did it to spite him. In this poem in particular he talks about Emma having changed
without his realisation. This could be interpreted that she wanted to reminisce but didn't
tell him or that she decided to be like him and put no effort into rekindling their romance.

| Posted on 2005-12-20 | by Approved Guest

.: :.

It's about his refusal to accept the death of his wife. He is so caught up in his desire for
her still that he almost thinks he can hear her voice talking to him.
Hardy’s last stanza is much shorter in its composition to the previous three stanzas, and is
Hardy’s attempt to regain order in his life by moving on “faltering forward”. The
difficulty Hardy feels in doing so is mirrored in the arrangement of punctuation - by
placing a semi-colon immediately after “Thus I”, the phrase “faltering forward” is
stressed. This combined with its use of alliteration alerts the reader to how significant the
phrase is. It is Hardy’s attempt to accept the inevitability of death and move on with life.

Thomas Hardy has often been referred to, along with other poets of the time, as being on
the “cusp” between Victorian and Modern Poetry. Hardy’s life spanned 88 years, most of
the Victorian era (1837 – 1908) from his birth in 1840 to his demise in 1928. Though he
started out as a London architect, he ended up with an illustrious writing career. One of
his most private poems is “The Voice”, written just after his wife passed away in
December of 1912. Despite their marriage being described as ominous, his desperation
and loneliness over her death is evident in the language of this piece.
The subject matter in this poem is obvious from the opening line “Woman much missed,
how you call to me, call to me,” which confirms Thomas Hardy’s love, and the loss he
feels over the death of his wife. Hardy chose not to write blatantly about his late wife;
instead, he indirectly channels his feelings to the reader through a soldier during the
Great War of 1914, during which this poem was written, and about the soldiers mourning
for his partner. These two themes, love and loss, reoccur regularly throughout the poem.
“…When you had changed form the one was all to me, but as at first when our day was f
After reading this poem once, it seems rather straight forward, however, an in-depth
analysis uncovers the hidden theme of war. Through Hardy’s skilful use of alliteration,
assonance, symbolism and onomatopoeia, he successfully conveys to the reader the
soldiers desperation and pain. This poem was more than poignant, I admire the writers
ability to take his hurt and turn it into a profound and evocative poem. After ninety years
of development, and seeing the effects of war, it is ironic that we still turn to it to solve
our problems. It was individualistic pieces like this that made Thomas Hardy a
memorable name and I am sure that in the years ahead, this poem will take on a new,
more relevant meaning for all of us.
In the third stanza, the soldier starts to question the authenticity of the voice. Thomas
Hardy uses a mixture of alliteration and assonance to aid him with these lines.
Through the first line, the reader can almost hear for themselves the sound of the breeze,
put together with the whistling affect of the complimenting third line, the reader can now
identify with the soldier the voice he has been hearing and its soft gentle quality that is so
alluring. Though they are just two words, the impact is impressive. Between these two
lines, Hardy uses assonance and the harsher sounds of the ‘er and me’s

The Voice
2004-06-11
Added by: G.Baird
"Badly crafted"? What's the man on about? This magnificently crafted poem is one of
Hardy's greatest technical achievements. Note how he establishes the repetitive rhythms
in the first three stanzas, only to destroy them completely in the final stanza with the
words "Thus I". As he turns to examine his own now pathetic condition after his wife's
death, the regular metre, rhythm, line length all collapse, emphasising the lack of order
and structure in his present situation. In the winter of his life, he has lost his sense of
direction and is now "faltering forward" while the leaves fall, the wind blows, and all the
time he is haunted by the memory of his wife, and of his neglect of her: "And the woman
calling."

2006-05-24
Added by: daoxunchang
I agree with Baird. Though compared to many poets before him, Thomas Hardy did write
"vulgar" poets, but this one is different. And since I'm not a native English speaker and
cannot appreciate the rhymes and metres of English poetry, I usually do not pay much
attention to them and instead focus on the images and contents. And I really love the
images in this poem and the sensation in it.
I feel much identified with Hardy's description of his recalling of his memory of his late
wife. Memory is a curious thing. It may frustrate you as you try very hard to grasp it and
thus makes you uneasy and sometimes feel guilty. And at some other times, it may
imperceptibly merge from the very depth of your heart and make you feel even stronger
an emotion than when the memory was collected.
The grief of bereavement, the regret of their estrangement and the eagerness to recall the
accurate appearance of his wife is described acutely here.