Is Thomas Hardy Obsessed with the Past? Essay

Many of Thomas Hardy’s poems are centered on the feelings summoned up when reminiscing about the past. On the surface, it seems as though Hardy is ‘obsessed with the past’ as many poems are laced with memories which conjure up feelings of nostalgia. It is important to consider, however, that this doesn’t necessarily mean that he is infatuated with bygones. It may also be the case that Hardy’s poetry is a means for him to comprehend and come to terms with the present. Hardy tries to reclaim the past in his poem, ‘Under the Waterfall’. Fundamentally, the narrator – thought to be Emma – experiences a Proustian moment as she plunges her arm into a basin of water. This stimulation brings on an avalanche of memories, which are ‘fetched back from its thickening shroud of gray’ – symbolizing Hardy trying to rescue memories from the shroud of time. Emma feels anew the romantic feelings she felt on the day she dropped a drinking glass into the water, when she and her lover where having a picnic by a waterfall. Hardy utilizes a metaphor effectively, by referring to the day as being ‘fugitive’, which suggests that it is ephemeral and can be lost any moment. This particular memory of the past is a seemingly pleasant one as is suggested by the use of sibilance (ll 13-16). The repetition of the soft hissing sounds in ‘scoop of the self-same block’, ‘ceases’ and ‘peaces’ suggests a dreamy and idealistic setting. Hardy refers to the drinking-glass as being opalized; once more indicating to how long it has been since this even took place. He gives this drinking-glass almost religious significance by sanctifying it and calling it a ‘chalice’. The chalice symbolized unity between Hardy and Emma, which still lies under the waterfall and ‘its presence adds to the rhyme of love persistently sung by the fall above’. Hardy uses rhyming couplets which give the poem a childish and youthful feel. This rhyming alludes to his youth being the ‘prime’ or best time of his life, and by summoning the past he can bring back the feelings of youth. Revival of the past is a recurring theme in many of Hardy’s poems. Similarly to ‘Under the Waterfall’, ‘At Castle Boterel’ also involves Hardy remembering a specific incident that took place between him and Emma. Emma is now dead, but in Hardy’s recollection her ‘phantom figure’ remains on the hillside. The poem is a powerful effort in consciousness to defeat the processes of time by reclaiming the past, as is shown in ‘Under the Waterfall’ also. On the other hand, the two settings have a stark contrast. Hardy drives to the junction of a line and highway with ‘drizzle bedrenching’; this suggests the somber and unhappy quality of the present. He looks behind at the byway, which is ‘fading’. This suggests increasing distance and decreasing significance of present reality as he delves into his past with Emma. There is use of enjambment in the between the first two stanzas, providing a sense of transition between Hardy’s present and past, and also his two states of mind. He speaks of how they walked along the road and creates a warm atmosphere in ‘dry March weather’. It is evident that the happy moments of the poem reflect Hardy’s love and what it used to be in the past. The last stanza consists of sharp words, completely unlike the melodious ones in ‘Under the Waterfall’. ‘My sand is sinking’, is a euphemism of Hardy’s approaching death. The sand conjures up the imagery of an hour-glass, once again referring to time passing relentlessly. In many of his poems, Hardy finds solace in the timelessness of many landscapes and tales. This suggests that Hardy has an inclination towards the past, because of the invariable constancy that it provides, regardless of passing time. For example, in the fifth stanza of ‘At Castle Boterel’, Hardy refers to the ‘Primaeval rocks’ in order to emphasise the great age and permanence of the hill by reflecting of how much transition they must have observed. Hardy asks if ever there was a ‘time of such quality’ in ‘that hill’s story’ and states that he believes there never were. This is, in a sense a defiance of time, as even time cannot alter the value of that one moment. The defiance of time is continued in the sixth stanza, as Hardy’s memory allows him to see ‘one phantom figure’ – Emma – even though ‘time’s unflinching rigour’ has killed the actual person. The idea of memory being eternal is once again portrayed in the poem ‘I Found Her Out There’. Hardy remembers Emma in Cornwall, and how she would sigh at the tale of ‘sunk Lyonnesse’, her hair beating against her face in the wind while she would listen to the ‘murmuring miles’. Hardy uses a technical aspect – synaesthesia – in order to combine two senses; this has a very powerful effect on the audience, giving the scene a sense of agelessness. The Arthurian tales also offer a link: As the myths of Lyonnesse belong to a fabled past, so too does the love story of Emma and Thomas Hardy. Additionally, this theme also echoes in ‘Under the Waterfall’, as Hardy refers to the ‘purl of a runlet that never ceases’ be it ‘in wars, in peaces’. Onomatopoeic diction in these lines is sounds like a flowing waterfall and represents the fact that it remains unchanged for a long period, unaffected by time. Hardy often uses the past objectively, in order to comfort him and assist him in dealing with his grief. ‘I Found Her Out There’ is a poem in which Hardy begins to dissociate himself from the anguish and guilt that consumed him after Emma’s death. This dissociation can be seen as he refers to Emma’s ‘shade’ as ‘it’ instead of ‘her’. He is beginning to come to acceptance of her death, as is shown by the controlled form of the poem. There are five uniform octaves, all following the rhyme scheme of ABBACDCD. Hardy ends the first stanza with the line, ‘The solid land’. This brings everything to a sudden, thumping halt and there is no mellifluous poetic beauty, as one would find in the poem, ‘Under the Waterfall’. Hardy is also conscious enough to effectively use contrasts of time in ‘I Found Her Out There’. He describes Emma in her youth, with the setting sun illuminating her face ‘fire-red’ against Emma as a corpse, never to be stirred in her ‘loamy cell’. This poem is less of a lament over the lost past, and more about capturing the essence of Emma. This is not always the case, however. In ‘Under the Waterfall’, Hardy finds it difficult to emotionally detach himself from the memory of the past. This is reflected in the structure, which can be jarring. The length of lines is not uniform, and this may suggest that Hardy’s mind wasn’t in a neutral state. He also asks many questions, such as ‘And why does plunging your arm in a bowl full of spring water, bring throbs to your soul?’ This portrays his internal turmoil. In conclusion, I believe that although Hardy had an inclination with the past, one cannot so far as to say that he was obsessed with it.