The Voice
Thomas Hardy
When studying poetry remember
to….
Comment on:
Subject
Tone
Imagery
Form
Feeling
Subject
• What type (mood) of poem is
suggested by the title, ‘The Voice’?
• Summarise the poem in one or two
sentences.
Tone
• What is the tone of the first stanza?
• What tone might the poet use when
speaking the first line of the 2nd
stanza?
• How does the poet’s tone change in
the 3rd stanza?
Imagery
What is suggested by the following phrases;
• Woman much missed
• You are not as you were
• You being ever dissolved to wan
wistlessness
• Faltering forward
• Wind oozing thin through the thorn
What figurative devices have been used in this
poem?
Form
• What is the rhythm/metre of the first 3
stanzas?
• How does this change in stanza 4?
• What is the effect of this change?
Feeling
• How would you describe the
relationship between the speaker and
his deceased wife?
• How does the poet convey this
feeling in the poem?
Background Information
• Poem was written shortly after the death of
Hardy’s wife, Emily.
• The relationship was not a happy one.
• Hardy felt guilty about the lack of care he
showed towards his wife during her
illness.
Does this information change the way you
read the poem?
The Voice of the poem
• The speaker of the poem may not
necessarily represent the voice of the
poet.
• However in this poem it seems to closely
represent Hardy’s feelings towards his
dead wife.
• You should refer to ‘the voice’ or ‘the
speaker’ when writing about the character
in this poem.
• You should refer to ‘Hardy’ or ‘the poet’
when writing about the language of the
poem or how the character is portrayed.
Themes
• A theme is a recurring idea
throughout a poem.
• What are the main themes of the
poem?
Loss
Guilt
Bereavement
Extended Writing
• In what ways does the poem ‘The
Voice’ seem to present Hardy’s
feelings of guilt towards his dead
wife?
Write about 500 words and use PEEL to
explore the poem.