Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

Ah, are you digging on my grave
My loved one?--planting rue?"
--"No; yesterday he went to wed
One of the brightest wealth has bred.
'It cannot hurt her now,' he said,
That I 'should not be true.'"

Then who is digging on my grave?
My nearest dearest kin?"
--"Ah, no; they sit and think, 'What use!
What good will planting flowers produce?
No tendance of her mound can loose
Her spirit from Death's gin.'"

But someone digs upon my grave?
My enemy?--prodding sly?"
--"Nay; when she heard you had passed the Gate
That shuts on all flesh soon or late,
She thought you no more worth her hate,
And cares not where you lie."

Then, who is digging on my grave?
Say--since I have not guessed!"
--"0 it is I, my mistress dear,
Your little dog, who still lives near,
And much I hope my movements here
Have not disturbed your rest?"

Ah, yes! You dig upon my grave . . .
Why flashed it not on me
That one true heart was left behind!
What feeling do we ever find
To equal among humankind
A dog's fidelity!"

Mistress, I dug upon your grave
To bury a bone, in case
I should be hungry near this spot
When passing on my daily trot.
I am sorry, but I quite forgot
It was your resting-place."

How can a poem fail when it’s about super-human doggie loyalty?! This clever and straightforward poem was from the Satires Of Circumstances collection published in 1914. Some critics consider this collection his finest.

Each stanza reflects the visitation of a type of person to the grave. The first, a lover, the second, kin, the third, an enemy. The next three stanza deal with the visiting dog:

What feeling do we ever find
To equal among humankind
A dog's fidelity!"

That pretty much wraps up the poem’s theme up until an ambiguous last paragraph, where the dog's ‘fidelity’ is tested.

When passing on my daily trot.
I am sorry, but I quite forgot
It was your resting-place."

As Paul Fussell wrote, these are the poems that Hardy wrote before The Great War, and which use irony as the interpretative means to perceive what lied ahead (catastrophic misery and death).

There are several definitions for irony. Here is one:

a state of affairs or an event that seem deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.

John: It seems like a building irony, the 4th stanza ending makes
us think during the initial reading that the Dog's loyalty will be further extolled in the remaining two stanzas. Then, we find that
the dog was not such a faithful visitant.

What a poem! It has everything; so much speculation and ends on such a gentle, humorously ironic note. Who could not smile at the simple literal reason?

I assumed from the start that it would be yet another tribute to Thomas Hardy's first wife Emma, and the voice was indeed hers. But the identity of the "culprit" tricked me. I'm not sure I would have appreciated any further irony about world affairs and the upcoming First World War. We can see this in perspective, but I wonder if it was in Thomas Hardy's mind ... what do you think? Perhaps so, as I believe the general feeling of public unrest and fear predated WWI for years.

It did remind me more of the true stories of dogs who have faithfully visited their master or mistresses grave, or even stayed there year after year. But this personnified dog is just a simple soul, living in the present as they all do. Lovely! Thanks Donald. I shall give my dog, a good boy who lies next to me right now, a pat 😁

Now linked.

I would put this poem among my many Hardy favorites. The poem shows how the feelings of the living for the dead fade with time. While it is normal that the living must move on, everyone would like to be remembered after they are deceased. At first it seems like at least the loyal dog remembers the woman, but Hardy drops that devastating--and amusing--last stanza. The poem is sad and funny at the same time--or ironic as John and Jean pointed out.

The rhymes, and the variations on "digging on my grave' in the first line of every stanza hold this poem together well. Nice choice, Donald!

Connie: thanks for spotlighting the various first lines in the poem. I noticed that in every stanza but the last, the question is asked by the deceased. In the last stanza it is the dog who is the questioner. Make of that what you will.

Jean: In response to "I'm not sure I would have appreciated any further irony about world affairs and the upcoming First World War. We can see this in perspective, but I wonder if it was in Thomas Hardy's mind ..." I've addressed this idea in another thread, saying that any intelligent and informed person would have been concerned about the goings-on in Pre-War Europe. From the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon to the revolutions of 1848 and the Franco-Prussian war, those with an eye towards History, as Hardy was, would surely have been concerned. ( The line from a Bob Dylan song: "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" seems relevant here; could also be the epigram on a book about the Sixties!) Now whether this concern influenced the themes of his poetry, that's more of a sticky-wicket.

Thank you for your thoughts on this, Donald. I do indeed remember your comments in another thread about a different poem.

In one of George Orwell's novels Coming up for Air, he describes the similar English public's perceptions and dread of the imminent WWII (as opposed to WWI). Access to reliable information would not be as easy as now, especially for those who were not very well off, and rumours and speculations would spread in villages. It is difficult though for us to have this exact mindset now, unless we are historians.

I believe Thomas Hardy was writing for the general public, of whom perhaps not everyone was particularly "intelligent and informed". However, there is perhaps still an underlying deliberate irony in his words, as well as the more obvious and entertaining irony.

We must just take care not to add our later perspective, I think, thereby attributing intention where there may have been none. As you say, it's hard to judge.

Jean: Probably the best way we might be able to find out what Hardy might have thought pre-WW1 would be reading his letters from that era. Also, Biographies of the type that would ask Hardy's friends what he might have said to them about this subject. Thomas Hardy Remembered by Martin Ray might be that sort of book.

Admittedly, WW2 was a lot more easily felt beforehand; The ink had not yet dried on the Treaty of Versailles and prognosticators were already seeing doom on the horizon. I've always been hamstrung by WW1, having no interest in the bad behaviors of incestuous Royals and Monarchs that had outlived their usefulness. This in spite of the fact that as a teenager I worked with a combat veteran of that war, and that my Grandfather had brought me as a young child to his friend's house for a visit - The man had been a pilot in WW1. It's been 50 years since I read the Barbara Tuchman's book, Guns of August, probably the best general introduction to that war.

Thomas Hardy Remembered by Martin Ray isn't a book I know - thank you Donald!

The most critically acclaimed biography is Michael Millgate's (actually he has written several books on Thomas Hardy) if you ever get chance to read that one. Florence Hardy also wrote one which is largely Thomas Hardy's autobiography, but it is heavily edited, so I don't know whether she will have gone into this aspect. Claire Tomalin's is excellent, but I cannot remember much about this area. (This could well be my fault as WW1 isn't a subject which I have an enduring interest in.)

We do plan to read one of his biographies later this year, so hopefully that will provide more information 😊 As you say, it is more difficult to accurately assess and empathise with the general mood in England prior to WW1, as it is more distant than WW2.

We have certainly read quite a few poems which make his views on war clear! For anyone new to our weekly poem, do please take a look at our list, which links to more than fifty further poetry threads. There are great discussions there, and it would be very interesting to hear any further views on those poems.

Jean: Thanks for the information about the Biographies. Don't forget, Half A Londoner. I want to read the Tomalin book soon. I've started to read the complete poems chronologically. I'll make comments in the appropriate threads when the spirit moves me!

Thomas Hardy: Half a Londoner by Mark Ford

Another bio I didn't know about! Thanks Donald 😊

I just read this poem for the first time yesterday, and appreciated reading all the comments above. Hardy's craftsmanship here, in delivering exactly the ironic effect he wants, is perfect.

Werner wrote: "I just read this poem for the first time yesterday, and appreciated reading all the comments above. Hardy's craftsmanship here, in delivering exactly the ironic effect he wants, is perfect."

I'm so glad you are commenting as you read, Werner! Your comments prompted me to read this poem today and it connected nicely with the Tomalin biography of Hardy that I'm reading. Earlier today, I read that Tom and Emma had a dog named Moss, who they loved dearly. They mourned his passing sometime in the late 1890s. Tom and Emma never had children, so they were particularly attached to their cats and dog.

Bridget wrote: "Earlier today, I read that Tom and Emma had a dog named Moss, who they loved dearly. They mourned his passing sometime in the late 1890s. Tom and Emma never had children, so they were particularly attached to their cats and dog."

I wasn't aware of that! Thanks for sharing it, Bridget.

Sorry, I havve been so long away from this thread. I appreciated this poem but was a bit surprised at the end. Thanks for giving me some perspective on it.

It's such a lovely poignant poem isn't it, with the surprise droll ending. Thank you so much for the context, Bridget.