THE VOICE
by Thomas Hardy
BACKGROUND
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Thomas Hardy attributed this
poem to the passing of his first
wife, Emma
Hardy felt guilty about his
inability to take proper care of
Emma before her death
Hardy died in 1928, and was
asked to be buried beside his
wife.
THE VOICE
Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me,
Saying that now you are not as you were
When you had changed from the one who was all to me,
But as at first, when our day was fair.
Can it be you that I hear? Let me view you, then,
Standing as when I drew near to the town
Where you would wait for me: yes, as I knew you then,
Even to the original air-blue gown!
Or is it only the breeze in its listlessness
Travelling across the wet mead to me here,
You being ever dissolved to wan wistlessness,
Heard no more again far or near?
Thus I; altering orward,
Leaves around me falling,
Wind oozing thin through the thorn from norward,
And the woman calling.
LITERARY DEVICES
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Rhyme scheme of “ABAB, CDCD, EFEF ND GHGH” –
this is to give the poem rhythm and flow, to show
readers the continuity of his love and emphasizes on
his grief.
The repetition used creates a ghostly effect that
Emma’s voice is speaking to him and haunting him.
STANZA ONE
Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me,
(Introduction to the subject of this poem; his wife. It is shown
that despite her death, he still constantly thinks of and
hallucinates about her. “Call to me, call to me” also resembles a
ghostly echo, showing desperation and longing.)
Saying that now you are not as you were
When you had changed from the one who was all to me,
But as at first, when our day was fair.
(Here, the poet is suggesting that his wife is insisting that the
woman he is seeing is in fact the very one he fell in love with all
those years ago, not the one which contributed to their
relationship souring in the later years.)
STANZA TWO
Can it be you that I hear?
(He ponders over the seemingly unbelievable fact that he could be hearing
her voice. It also shows us that he has been reminiscing about his wife for a
long time.)
Let me view you, then,
Standing as when I drew near to the town
Where you would wait for me: yes, as I knew you then,
Even to the original air-blue gown!
(He goes back and reflects to the beginning. He relives their meetings and his
vivid memories of her, going as far as remembering the colour of her gown,
shows us that he still clearly harbours deep feelings for her. It can also
however, imply that he only loves her due to her physical attraction. He refuses
to remember and long for the his wife in her later years. No matter what, he
only seems to go back to times when she was young and beautiful.)
STANZA THREE
Or is it only the breeze in its listlessness
Travelling across the wet mead to me here,
(He questions the actuality of his visions of her and
begins to accept that maybe he is simply exaggerating
the voice of nature to Emma’s voice.)
You being ever dissolved to wan wistlessness,
Heard no more again far or near?
(The image of his wife begins to fade away as he
comes to terms to the fact that every image of her he
creates may be the last one.)
STANZA FOUR
Thus I; faltering forward,
(He is telling us that without her, all he can hope to do is stumble through the rest of his
life. The alliteration of ‘f’s represents the future clumsiness and unpleasantness of Hardy’s
life.)
Leaves around me falling,
(When leaves fall from a tree, they are carried by the wind. This is symbolic of Emma’s
death and control over him as although she may not be there physically anymore, her
voice – her image – is always lifted by a breeze that surrounds him.)
Wind oozing thin through the thorn from norward,
(“Oozing” is a word usually associated with the aftermath of injuries, like “oozing
blood”. Emma’s death is a wound. He is hurt and the pain never seems to stop. The depth
of his suffering is intensified with the word “norward” which represents the Northern
wind; the strongest wind of all.
And the woman calling.
(This could imply that he is her voice is calling out to him stronger now, as the breeze
turns into strong gusts of wind.
Or it could show that her voice is being blown away, slowly but surely, as she withers
away from him.)
THANK YOU 