Recitations
“How do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“Neutral Tones” by Thomas Harding
“Tears, Idle Tears” by Lord Tennyson
Explication
Explication of “Neutral Tones” by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy’s poem “Neutral Tones” is about two estranged lovers that have once again reunited, and the speaker reflects upon their past relationship.
In the first stanza, two estranged lovers have met again after some time. The lovers stand by a pond on a winter day, while the speaker is reminiscing about their relationship with a bitter and negative mindset. Winter is a lifeless and dull season, and creates an atmosphere of gloom. Instead of being bright or even glaring, the sun is “white,” as if drained of all life and color. Dead leaves lie on the ground as a reminder that after life, there is death. These leaves are “gray” and come from an “ash”, both words continuing to emphasize the gloominess colorless atmosphere. Other details, such as the sun being described “as though chidden of God” and the ground is called the “starving sod.”, contribute to the overall negative tone and atmosphere.
The next two stanzas describe the lover. Stanza 2 gives hints to the nature of their relationship and their lack of communication, making a meaningful relationship impossible. The description of the woman’s glance and their conversation suggests that their love had become boring, and that the words they had shared hold no meaning to them. Things become direr and menace in stanza 3, when the speaker describes lover’s smile as “the deadest thing/ Alive,” and her bitter grin is compared to “an ominous bird a-wing.”
The change in the character of the speaker becomes obvious in the fourth stanza. Instead of referring to the sun as “white”, he now refers to it as the “God-curst sun”, showing the character’s emotions changing from sadness to anger. In the first two lines, it seems that the speaker has learned lessons from the relationship and is trying to move on, but he is still angry and finds new ways to criticize his lover. The speaker ends the poem by referencing the pond edged with grayish leaves, once again stating that their love and relationship is as dead as the leaves.
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