At first glance, it's hard to tell what Thomas Hardy's "Neutral Tones" actually entails. As an overview, this poem describes the progression of love from a once-happy relationship to a now-cold, disintegrated one through the imagery of bleakness and despair — which in turn evokes a series of neutral tones (hence, the title!) while you're reading it.
Over the years, this poem has become the epitome of love and loss in the literary world — explaining why it's one of the poem selections for under the GCSE English Literature Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology. Now, let's dive deep into this poem for a detailed analysis.
🧔 Thomas Hardy: A Brief Biography
First, let's start with the poet. Born in 1840, Thomas Hardy grew up in rural Dorset, which deeply shaped his outlook in writing. Hardy wrote this poem in 1867, before his first marriage and his first novel.
👨👩👧👦 Family:
His father was a stonemason and fiddler, and his mother, being well-educated, led Hardy's early education until he started formal education at the age of eight.
Before venturing into full-time writing, Hardy initially received formal training in architecture, even becoming an architectural apprentice in London.
Hardy's observation about the social class differences between his own hometown and London is characterised in his poetry and novels.
🪶Context and Historical Background
Hardy grew up during the Victorian era (1837–1901) and was influenced by both the Romanticism and Realism movements in terms of writing style.
Romanticism began before the Victorian era, but its techniques were still influential, especially through the writings of Lord Byron, John Keats, William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, and Samuel Coleridge. On the other hand, Realism emerged during the Victorian period, witnessing the rise of literary figures like Charles Dickens and George Eliot.
Romanticism
- Life as it should be
- Highlights individual experience and emotion
Realism
- Life as it is
- Avoids romantic idealism
Paired with his previous failed relationships and eventual marriages, Hardy's writings often have a gloomy and bitter undertone, which is reflected in "Neutral Tones," a poem focused on relationships. 1
Romanticism: Emotional focus and nature imagery (pond) as a source of inspiration [Techniques]
Realism: Failed and loss of love, the reality of a heartbreak [Message] 2
📜Full Text of "Neutral Tones"
Here's the full text of the poem for your reference.
We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles of years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro
On which lost the more by our love.
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
Like an ominous bird a-wing…
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
✍️ Line-by-Line Analysis
Now, let's break down the stanzas and interpret them accordingly.
✅Stanza 1
We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
– They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
🍂The speaker begins by describing a meeting during winter.
🍂The sun was unusually white, as though it was caused by divine disapproval.
🍂There were also grey leaves that had fallen from an ash tree, lying on the ground.
✅Stanza 2
Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles of years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro
On which lost the more by our love.
🩶Now, the speaker's lover's eyes begin to wander; there's an expression of contrast and perhaps disappointment. Things have changed.
🩶They exchanged conversations, but love is no longer present.
✅Stanza 3
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
Like an ominous bird a-wing….
😐The speaker noted that his lover's smile is lifeless, implying the death of their relationship.
😐In between, the bitterness of the smile has grown to be as powerful as the bird in the sky, indicating that the relationship has grown awry.
✅Stanza 4
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
💔Some time has passed since the meeting. The speaker now sees love as something deceptive and unpleasantly wrong.
💔The memory flashes back to the setting of the meeting — ending with a melancholic, bleak note.
🩶 Themes and Motifs
Several central and unifying ideas run through Neutral Tones, especially through these themes and motifs.
The poem paints a picture of relationship disintegration.
The description of the relationship is now a past recollection.
Analysis: Love that was once alive and passionate is now dead and cold — bright smile became bitter, loving eyes began to wander.
The poet's memory of the relationship's outcome still lingers, suggesting the emotional impact of the relationship.
Analysis: The past is still alive as the poet relives the neutral tones of the setting — pond, grey leaves, and white sun (motifs) at the beginning and end of the poem.
📝Language: Literary Devices and Techniques
As we identify and explore the literary devices throughout the poem, one thing remains clear about Hardy's intentions: to highlight the interplay between humans and nature.
✨Imagery
Imagery is a literary device that employs vivid and descriptive language 3 that appeals to the senses, such as the following:
- Sight [Visual imagery]
- Hearing [Auditory imagery]
- Smell [Olfactory imagery]
- Taste [Gustatory imagery]
- Touch [Tactile imagery]
Hardy uses various visual imagery techniques, as shown in the following table:
| Visual Imagery Examples | Quote | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Winter imagery | “We stood by a pond that winter day” | The season is a reflection of the state of the relationship — cold and barren. |
| Colours imagery | "And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, And a few leaves lay on the starving sod; " They had fallen from an ash, and were gray" | Throughout the poem, only white and grey were mentioned. This visualisation of neutral colours indirectly reinforces the fact that the relationship is also losing its colours. Grey leaves usually represent decay while white sun means the weather is bleak. |
| Religious imagery | “The sun was white, as though chidden of God” "Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree, " | The poet uses God as a divine figure who judges the relationship. Words like "chidden" and "curst" seem to imply that this failed relationship feels like a curse, as opposed to whata successful relationship ought to be — a blessing. |
| Death imagery | “The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing, Alive enough to have strength to die" | It's an ironic imagery because a smile is supposed to mean happiness. Now, the poet's lover smile no longer brings forth life and love, but now it marks the end of a relationship. |
✨Symbolism
Like any good poem, the imagery techniques are layered with various symbols to convey the true meaning and message of the poet.
| Symbol | Quote | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Pond | "We stood by a pond that winter day" / "a pond edged with grayish leaves" | A pond during winter is probably frozen or stagnant. The water is unable to flow and appears to be lifeless surrounded by grey leaves. The state of the pond directly symbolises the the poet's doomed relationship. |
| Gray ash leaves | "A few leaves lay on the starving sod / —They had fallen from an ash, and were gray" | The poet specifically describe the type of the tree, ash tree. It's supposed to be a big, lush tree but it could imply a symbolic play of word - where things turn into ashes on the barren ground. The relationship has decayed and ended. |
| The white sun | "And the sun was white, as though chidden of God" / "the God-curst sun" | The original nature of the sun is supposed to be bright and warm. Having a white sun means the surrounding is going to be bleak and even cold. Paired with divine "rejection", it is a symbolic sign of punishment. |
| Lover's smile/grin | "The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing / Alive enough to have strength to die" / "grin of bitterness... Like an ominous bird a-wing" | The grin symbolises hidden resentment and bitterness that have accumulated. The relationship has become pathetic and dead, without sincerity. |
✨Tone and Mood
Tone and mood are also important elements to enrich a poem's reading experience. Hardy effectively uses certain words and techniques to create a consistent melancholic tone as well as a pensive, bleak mood.
Tone (Poet's attitude)
Evident phrases: “God-curst”, “wrings with wrong”"
Message: Divine and human gloom of the relationship.
Evident phrases: "keen lessons that love deceives,"
Message: There's no point in love anymore.
Evident phrases: " Since then."
Message: Gradual acceptance with time.
Mood (Reader's response)
Evident phrases: “We stood by a pond that winter day”
Message: It creates a pessimistic mood.
Evident phrases: "And a few leaves lay on the starving sod; They had fallen from an ash, and were gray"
Message: It implies the relationship is dead.
Evident phrases: “Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree”
Message: Repetition of these images means the memory is still on the poet's mind.
Meanwhile, check out the poem analysis of another GCSE poem, Medusa by Carol Ann Duffy.
🪵 Form and Structure
Let's have an overview of the form and structure of Neutral Tones. It is written in the first-person perspective and is made up of four quatrains (four-line stanzas) with 16 lines.
The poem largely follows the iambic tetrameter (four stressed beats per line) with occasional breaks to create an unstable rhythm, mirroring the poet's emotions towards his failed relationship.
The poem follows the ABBA rhyme scheme, where Line 1 rhymes with Line 4, and Line 2 rhymes with Line 3. This makes the poem feel closed in, reflecting how the poet feels trapped in the memory.
We stood by a pond that winter day (A)
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, (B)
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod; (B)
They had fallen from an ash, and were gray. (A)
Additionally, the poem follows a circular structure where it opens and closes with the same imagery — pond, grey leaves, white sun. This is in alignment with the poem's themes as it shows that the poet is still holding on to the memory of loss and love, and it lingers emotionally like a cycle.
↔️ Comparative Analysis
Comparative analysis is a common literary exercise to explore similar themes and study the differences in writing techniques among different poets and authors.
💡On the theme of love (loss/lack)
For example, The Farmer's Bride by Charlotte Mew explores the absence of love in a marriage between a farmer and his young wife. The poem uses nature imagery, such as animals and farms, and the changing of seasons to describe the disintegration of the marriage.
- Mew's poem highlights that happy endings in love are not always guaranteed — a common ground shared in Neutral Tones.
💡On imagery techniques
Additionally, Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes is also a poem that features rich imagery. But instead of a rapid-fire collection of impressions, Hardy treats his readers to a lingering glance at a dying relationship. Implicit in nature's detritus of death - the ashen leaves and starving sod- lies love, irrevocably gone.
🪞 Critical Reception and Interpretations
What makes Neutral Tones stand out and is still well-received today is due to Hardy's unique writing approach. First of all, the title itself is intriguing. You'll never expect it to be a poem about love.
However, the title unravels itself beautifully as you go through the four stanzas. From the physical setting, the season, the nature imagery, everything evokes a neutral or monotonous colour palette. It poses such a big contrast to what we often think a love poem would be — bright, charming, and passionate.
While these emotions could be heightened by Hardy's own experience and also the Victorian worldview, a modern audience like you and me could interpret it in today's context, where love can sometimes leave us disillusioned and cynical. Afterall, the intricate emotional lingering of a heartbreak is relatable for anyone who has had a similar experience.
Well, these sad and hopeless obstacles are welcome in one sense, for they enable us to look with indifference upon the cruel satires that Fate loves to indulge in.
Thomas Hardy
If you want to learn how to interpret and compare different poetry, feel free to connect with an experienced English tutor. At Superprof, you can find a tutor to guide you regardless of your learning pace and purpose. For example, you might want to compare Neutral Tones with a war-themed poem like The Yellow Palm.
Head to the Superprof homepage and start browsing a wide selection of English tutors' profiles. From there, review the tutors' essential information and book your first lesson.
References
- Poetry Foundation. (2017). Thomas Hardy. Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/thomas-hardy
- Realism vs. Romanticism Definition - English 12 Key Term | Fiveable. (n.d.). https://fiveable.me/key-terms/english-12/realism-vs-romanticism
- LitCharts. (2017). Imagery - Definition and Examples | LitCharts. LitCharts. https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/imagery
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You state” Our narrator was instrumental in moving the St Pancras church cemetery to make way for the St Pancras station railway. ” This is incorrect because it equates the writer Thomas Hardy with the narrator of the poem. J’est un autre as Rimbaud says.
I’m so into Hardy and have been since the age of 14. Glad you pointed out he wrote this poem at 27 years . And already keen lessons that love deceives as well as propinquity is the end of romance.