Thomas Hardy

Hardy's works take place in Wessex (named after the Anglo-Saxon kingdom which existed in the area). One of his distinctive achievements is to have captured the cultural atmosphere of rural Wessex in the golden epoch that existed just before the coming of the railways and the agricultural and industrial revolutions that were to change the English countryside for ever. His works are often deeply pessimistic and full of bitter irony, in sharp contrast to the prevalent Victorian optimism.

The Fallow Deer at the Lonely House

One without looks in to-night
Through the curtain-chink
From the sheet of glistening white;
One without looks in to-night
As we sit and think
By the fender-brink.

We do not discern those eyes
Watching in the snow;
Lit by lamps of rosy dyes
We do not discern those eyes
Wondering, aglow,
Fourfooted, tiptoe.

3 comments:

Susan said...: One of my all time favorite poems as it reminds me of the deer that shyly approach our garden in the Ashdown Forest. Very evocative.; 1:57 pm
Susan said...: This is one of my favorite poems- it is so evocative. We sometimes get deer creeping into our garden in the Ashdown Forest and it is always such a thrill to see them. Sometimes humans do not respect other living creatures enough.; 2:00 pm
Susan said...: Love this poem- humans do not respect other living creatures enough sometimes. Reminds me of the deer I see creeping up to our house in the Ashdown forest.; 2:02 pm