From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Wessex Poems and Other Verses

1898 poem collection by Thomas Hardy

Wessex Poems and Other Verses (often referred to simply as Wessex Poems) is a collection of 51 poems set against the bleak and forbidding Dorset landscape by English writer Thomas Hardy. It was first published in London and New York in 1898 by Harper Brothers, and contained a number of illustrations by the author himself.

Reception

The collection met a broadly hostile reception, critics being accustomed to Hardy as a (controversial) writer of prose alone. Hardy himself was taken aback by the failure to recognise his dry humour, as in the (slightly bawdy) 'Bride-Night Fire'.

On a more personal note, his wife Emma disliked the section consisting of love lyrics to various recipients; and especially 'The Ivy Wife', which she felt aimed at her.

Notable poems

Two notable early poems from the collection (1860s) were "Hap" and 'Amabel' - the latter exploring the theme of sexual attraction impacted by age taken up by The Well-Beloved. 'She at His Funeral' was a tribute to Hardy's friend Horace Moule; while the bitter "Neutral Tones" and the cheerful 'Sergeant's Song' show further aspects of Hardy's range of poetic subjects.

References

M.Seymour-Smith, ''Thomas Hardy'' (London 1994) p. 637
T & F. Hardy, ''Thomas Hardy'' (Ware 2007) p. 311
M.Seymour-Smith, ''Thomas Hardy'' (London 1994) p. 561
M.Seymour-Smith, ''Thomas Hardy'' (London 1994) p. 597
M.Seymour-Smith, ''Thomas Hardy'' (London 1994) p. 177
I. Ousby ed., ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (Cambridge 1995) p. 1007

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1898-poetry-books english-poetry-collections poetry-by-thomas-hardy victorian-poetry wessex

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Wessex Poems and Other Verses — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report