“The Workbox” by Thomas Hardy is a poem about a wife who receives a gift from her husband. Initially the reader might imply that the husband presents this little box with intentions of pleasing his wife. The box is made from the coffin of John Wayward, a man from the wife’s past. Once she learns of the true contents of the box the wife tries to hide her reaction to the news of John’s death. No one knows the truth of how John dies, but the wife’s reaction to the box could suggest that she either has something to do with his death or knows more than she lets on. One could also suggest that the husband presents this box to his wife in hopes of a reaction. Thomas Hardy’s use of irony in “The Workbox” suggest that a gift can sometimes be more than just a gift.
The wife, “came of …show more content…
Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony. This is when the words or actions of the character contradict the real situation. An example of tragic irony is when the wife receives the box and later learns that “’Tis a scantling that [he] got/ Off poor John Wayward’s coffin, who/ Dies of they know not what” (10-12). Once the wife learns the true contents of the box, she becomes pale and looks away in grief or maybe in fear. Her husband asks if she “knew not that good lad. I fear, / Though he came from your native place” (23-24). The wife’s reaction suggests that she knew John, yet she denies ever knowing him, although she confirms that he came from her hometown. Her body language suggests that she is uncomfortable though she tries to pretend she is not, thus contradicting her statement of not knowing John.
Hardy’s use of irony in “The Workbox” implies that the poem, though it is riddled with irony is an allegory. This is because the box and the poem itself can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. In this poem, the meaning is love and its consequences if it is
The wife, “came of …show more content…
Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony. This is when the words or actions of the character contradict the real situation. An example of tragic irony is when the wife receives the box and later learns that “’Tis a scantling that [he] got/ Off poor John Wayward’s coffin, who/ Dies of they know not what” (10-12). Once the wife learns the true contents of the box, she becomes pale and looks away in grief or maybe in fear. Her husband asks if she “knew not that good lad. I fear, / Though he came from your native place” (23-24). The wife’s reaction suggests that she knew John, yet she denies ever knowing him, although she confirms that he came from her hometown. Her body language suggests that she is uncomfortable though she tries to pretend she is not, thus contradicting her statement of not knowing John.
Hardy’s use of irony in “The Workbox” implies that the poem, though it is riddled with irony is an allegory. This is because the box and the poem itself can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. In this poem, the meaning is love and its consequences if it is