Neutral Tones

• Who wrote Neutral Tones?

  Thomas hardy
• Who is Thomas hardy?

  A pessimistic poet
• What was Hardy’s love life like?

  He experienced many romantic disappointments.
• What is the poem about?

  Disappointed love (perhaps autobiographical)
• Who may the poem be written about (context)?

  His niece or cousin Trypheria Sparks who he was prevented from marrying.
• What is the rhyme scheme and rhythm?

  Followed regular ABBA scheme. Pairs of rhymed lines contribute to straightforward style of poem, supporting idea of neutral. Not a consistent rhythmic pattern which echoes uncomfortable feeling that exists between narrator and woman.
• What is main structure found in poem?

  cyclical structure as it ends in same geographical place because the speaker hasn’t come to terms with events.
• What is significant about the stanzas?

  4 stanzas make a powerfully emomotional piece of poetry. The 4th stanza has a turning point where reader realises the the description so far is a memory.
• ’We stood by a pond that winter day’


  Verb ’stood’ means they’re not moving forward suggesting the relationship is done, giving an idea of lifelessness also. Use of pathetic fallacy of ‘winter’ builds a sad sombre atmosphere as they are emotionally cold to each other.
• ‘And the sun was white, as though chidden of God’


  Religious reference indicates that he’s been punished by God; as if his world is dying as the world around him seems to be. Gives a sense of hopelessness. Sun being ‘white’ suggests its drained of colour and warmth as if its dying representing how their relationship lacks love.
• ‘And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;/- They had fallen from an ash, and were grey’


  Sibilance and personification of ‘starving sod’ reflects nature of relationship. ’Ash’ has connotations of death’. Adjective ‘grey’ emphasises drained of colour as also seen by ’white’.
• ‘Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove’


  ’Eyes’ are associated with love and eye contact yet hers ‘rove’ as she’s not focusing on him showing she is bored and uninterested in the speaker.
• ‘Over tedious riddles of years ago;’


  ’Riddles’ associated with games. Love should be fun and playful but here it is lost and tedious.
• ‘And some words played between us to and fro/On which lost the more by our love’


  They are speaking to each other but it has no meaning and the more they do speak, the more they lose love for each other.
• ‘The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing/Alive enough to have strength to die’


  ’Deadest thing alive’ is a superlative highlighting she is not in love. While the juxtaposition symbolises emotionless relationship. She’s made a conscious decision to let her smile die just like the relationship.
• ‘And a grin of bitterness swept thereby/Like an ominous bird a-wing…’


  Shes bitter but not trying to show it. An ‘ominous bird’ typically brings bad news. Simile symbolises end of relationship.
• ‘Since then, keen lessons that love deceive,/And wrings with wrong’


  Tense change showing turning point that the poem has been a memory. He has learnt from experience that love always ‘deceive(s)’. This is because the poet has been let down in many relationships leading him to be a pessimistic narrator. The alliteration of ‘w’ emphasises feeling of pain.
• ‘…The God-curst sun, and a tree,/And a pond edged either greyish leaves.’


  Cyclical structure shows he hasn’t moved on as hes still at the pond implying the narrator can’t escape his memory. As if she is almost haunting him which links with theme of death. ‘God-curst’ is harsher then ‘chidden’ in first stanza highlighting narrator is more bitter then he was when it actually happened ;contradicting the title of being ‘nuetral’.