Hardy's Lyrics: Pearls of Pity PDF
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Hardy's Lyrics Pearls of Pity Brian Green HARDY'S LYRICS This page intentionally left blank Hardy's Lyrics Pearls of Pity Brian Green tt First published in Great Britain 1996 by & MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-333-63328-8 First published in the United States of America 1996 by « ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division. 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN0-312-15965-X Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Green. Brian, 1948- Hardy's Lyrics : pearls of pity / Brian Green, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN0-312-15965-X 1. Hardy, Thomas, 1840-1928—Poetic works. 2. Consolation in literature. 3. Sympathy in literature. I. Title. PR4757.58G74 1996 82T.8—dc20 96-34812 CIP ©Brian Green 1996 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. 10 9 8 7 6 54 3 21 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham. Wiltshire For Michael Millgate This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations X Introduction 1 PART I: HARDY'S MASTER THEME 13 1 Nature 15 2 The Hardyan Temper and Ethos 32 3 Hardy's Poetic Manifesto 44 PART II: STRATEGIES OF SOLACE 61 4 Revelation 63 5 Rationalism 87 6 Nescience 101 7 Humanism 113 8 Personhood 126 PART III: IMAGES OF SOLACE 151 9 The Dimensions of Home 153 10 Poems of 1912-13: The Process of Mourning 192 Notes 214 Works Cited 229 Index 239 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements This book arises from the conviction that the Hardyan quality of mind, a mind at once tentative and courageous, is of supreme importance in our time, and is most distinctly present in Hardy's short poems. My chief aim has been to offer readers of Hardy's verse thematic and aesthetic guidelines for approaching his poems so as to encounter that quality of mind first-hand. Accordingly, I have linked my discussion to the text of Hardy's poems that is likely to be most readily available, The Complete Poems of Thomas Hardy edited by James Gibson; and I have documented a poem by the number he has assigned to it: for example, 'The Darkling Thrush' (G119). His edition was the origin, inspiration, and sine qua non of the present study, and I want to thank him for that, and also for inviting me to lecture at the conference commemorating the 150th anniversary of Hardy's birth. Several currents of professional and personal influence converge in this book, and I need to mention their springs. Michael Millgate's critical and biographical studies of Hardy's career as a novelist and an illustrious literary personage of the early twentieth century formed the fountain-head of the present study, and quickened my curiosity about Hardy's career as a poet. I am deeply indebted to him for his magnanimous interest in this book at an earlier stage and then, at its completion, for introducing me to Macmillan. Spe cial thanks must go to Michael Beatty, who read the first version of this book and who was helpful in applying to it his fine mind and, that rare faculty, a good ear. Finally, the following colleagues will know that I am grateful to them for their practical and moral support, as well as their academic example: Walter Claassen, Rodney Edgecombe, Michiel Heyns, and Norman Page. To Charmian Hearne, the commissioning editor, and to Anne Rafique, who copy- edited the typescript, warm thanks are due also. Grateful acknowledgements are hereby made to the Colby Quar terly for permission to reprint parts of my article 'A Sun for His Soul: Worth, Wonder, and Warmth', 30 (1994) 119-30. My article 'Hardy's Poetic Undervision: A Way of Looking Fully at "The Worst"', Unisa English Studies 30.1 (1992) 26-33, offers an apergu of portions of Part II. IX
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