Thomas Hardy Neutral Tones Analysis

“Neutral Tones” is a poem of failed love written by Thomas Hardy during the year of 1867. It expresses the bitter end of a relationship and the deep rooted feeling of regret. The poem is believed to be written about a woman by the name of Eliza Nicholls, who Hardy met during his first visit to London in 1863 (Bloom 37). “Neutral Tones” includes Hardy’s predictable references to God, gloom, and distaste for a relationship. In the poem, the speaker reminisces about standing next to a pond on a winter day with a lover from years ago. The speaker’s choice of wording throughout the poem leads the reader to believe that the relationship grew burdensome and dull for the speaker, and consequently resulted in a depressing and hurtful ending (Artscolumbia). …show more content…
The sad scenery of the poem is painted vividly by the first lines, as the life and passion is essentially sucked out of the setting by the lack of God (Hong-qin). In the opening line of the poem, the speaker says “We stood by a pond that winter day,” which immediately creates a sombre tone that is prevalent throughout the entirety of the poem, as winter is associated with death. The speaker also uses words such as “white”and “gray” in the first stanza to describe the speaker’s dull surroundings while also introducing their feelings of a bland and dreary past love. Hardy brings a reference of God into “Neutral Tones” by saying, “...the sun was white, as though chidden of God” describing the colorless day as though God had taken the liveliness and vibrancy out of the past lovers’ lives. The mention of “...starving sod” in the first stanza is also used to symbolize death and an empty relationship. “They had fallen from ash…” may infer that since ash only appears once a fire is out, the passion in the speaker’s relationship had died as well