“Afterwards” by Thomas Hardy Essay

Afterwards, by Thomas Hardy, is a poem that questions the flair that people will look upon the vote counter after his death. It centres most the idea of noticing things, showing the tellers precision and the ambivalence of his neighbours. Hardy gets this crossways by the techniques that he uses, and the detailed descriptions which show the full extent of what the narrator has noticed. The poem shows the complexity of temperament, and describes the cycle of life.The low stanza begins by personifying the Present, which is very hold as the poem is concerned by the aliveness of the surroundings that it is describing. The informant to the back gate suggests blockage, and is a very precise way of describing the send away of the narrators life. This sense of closure is likewise demonstrated in the structure of the poem, which is self-contained in its alternate rhymed quatrains. It has a rhyming pattern of abab, which means that the poem is soft and pleasing to hear, reflects t he quietness of reputation and goes along with the idea of the man being gentle and tremulous. It is as well pleasing to the eye as each(prenominal) stanza loosely mirrors the previous one. still the number of syllables varies in each line, which means the poem is not take a breathrain by its structure. This is fitting to the content of the poem as there argon references to birds, and flying which has the connotations of freedom.An deterrent example of this is, And the May month flaps its glad common land leaves like wings. This animal construery is totally un-restrictive, as well as painting a very bright and vibrant picture of the placate that he is describing. The alliteration, combined with each line only having one syllable facilitates to give the bouncing, jolly effect. The line in like manner shows enjambment from the counterbalance line that is a technique carried on throughout the poem, adding to the overall continuity. The month of May is as well described a s being delicate-filmed as parvenu spun silk. This simile gives a very precise description of the beauty of spring, comparing it to a showy new fabric, and giving it an almost transparent quality. There are also the connotations of value and exquisiteness.The second stanza moves consecutively from day date to dusk, using appropriate diction to describe the time. Hardy is precise in describing the moment the hawk lands as like an eyelids soundless blink. This has the combined effect of conveying some(prenominal) the ocular swiftness of movement, and also the quietness of the moment. He manages to create an eerie aroma by using the word shades, which gives the impression that there are m each shadows and it is not very easy to see. The eerie tone is continued by the wind-warped upland thorn, in which the plosive R sound adds to the feeling of rustiness. It shows that the narrator does not only appreciate the bright beauty of the day time, notwithstanding the more mystical qualit y of the evening, therefore noticing the full complexity of what nature has to offer.The idea of the day wearing on continues in the third stanza, where the first line foregrounds the rest of the stanza by stating If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, which clearly sets the scene for night time. This is carried on by the description of the hedgehog and the moths, which only venture out at night, which creates a mood of two-eyed violet and tranquility. The idea that the hedgehog travels furtively suggests a sense of purpose, that the hedgehog has a sly, secret mission to complete, which will go unnoticed in the rest of the world. This seems symbolic for the narrator, who seems to be discretely observing eachthing. The secretiveness would help explain the distance that seems to be between him and the rest of the human beings around him. This distance is further achieved by the fact that there are neer any names mentioned, or any suggestion of family or relationships. For examp le one may say,which is typically impersonal.Stanza four moves from describing the animals that the narrator identifies with, and is more foc apply of the narrator and his idea of the people around him. It is different from the previous stanzas in that there is no movement within it, which is appropriate because Hardy is describing the time when the narrator has been stilled at last. The focus switches from the visual nature the narrator is so utterly familiar with, to the full starred heavens that winter sees. accordingly he is thinking about the unknown, and the life that awaits him after he dies. once more there is the use of personification for winter, as there was for spring, which is important as it signifies the end of theseasonal cycle where things wither and die.Continuing this somewhat disconsolate tone, the root word of the last stanza seems to give up on human nature. It asks, and will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom. This brings you back to the closure suggested in the first stanza, where he describes the gate closing on his life. The image of the bell contrasts to the silence of the previous stanzas, especially the one immediately preliminary it.It describes the sound dying, and then rising again as a new bells boom. The alliteration again helps the line move quickly, suggesting the speed that people fringe around. The onomatopoeic word boom suggests the loud noise that people make, contrast to the peace and tranquility of the nature and animals that he describes. The poem ends by intercommunicate if the people will say, he hears it not now but used to notice such things? This sums up the whole poem, which is expressing how people will not ask these questions.The refrains bring in the new voice in each stanza, having the effect of uniting each one. The meaning of each of the final lines never really alters, achieving the realization that the narrator knows that he will never change the views of the people around him . Hardy is criticizing human nature for not fish fillet long enough to reflect on what is really meaningful in peoples lives.Therefore in conclusion the repetition of the first line, that ends the poem sums up the whole idea that nothing has actually been resolved. It emphasizes the complexity of nature and the amount of things that goes unnoticed every day and night. Hardy employs mingled techniques to make the poem come alive, which is crucial in showing his sense of taste of what is going on around him. He uses extensive imagery, so that it is both visual, such as by describing the colours, and the explicit detail that is in every small thing that he describes. The silence is also transmitted efficaciously by word choice such as soundless blink. It is also effective in identifying his affinity with animals, as opposed to human beings.