Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
Discussion Questions:
2295:
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What is "a world whose landscapes are etched with traces of the fleeting
stories of their inhabitants" (2295)?
2296:
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Why did Hardy decide to give up writing prose?
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How does Hardy resemble the major modernists?
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Explain: "His poems move between personal, historical, and natural
levels of experience, but it is the landscape above all that conveys the
power of these events" (2296).
"Hap" (1866)
2297:
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What sonnet form is employed here? Explain.
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What is the main point of this poem?
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Who are the "purblind Doomsters" (13)?
"The Convergence of the Twain" (1912)
2300:
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What "twain" are converging? Consider both the literal and the symbolic.
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Explain stanza 8.
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Explain stanza 11.
"Channel Firing" (1914)
2302:
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Identify the antecedents of the following pronouns: "your" (1),
"we" (2), "they (15), "you" (16).
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What is the main point of this poem?
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Explain the allusions to Camelot and Stonehenge (36).