A Comparison of Hardy's After A Journey and The Voice

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A Comparison of Hardy's After A Journey and The Voice We have been looking at two of Hardy’s poem s in great depth, The Voice and After A Journey. Both of these poems were written by Thomas Hardy, who besides an author was also an architect. The two poems are set in the countryside. In The Voice, we can see this because of the kind of climate described, “Wind oozing thin through the thorn from norward.” In After A Journey, we know the poem is set in the countryside because of the scenery described. “Up the cliff, down, till I’m lonely.” As the poems are set in the countryside it emphasis the fact that we are close to nature. In Hardy’s poems, he uses the natural surroundings and happenings to describe the love between the ghost and the speaker, for example, in After A Journey; “Summer gave us sweets, but autumn wrought division?” This means that the relationship between the ghost and the speaker was a settled one during summer, but in autumn, they had been separated. This technique is called ‘pathetic fallacy’. The setting shows his feelings towards the ghost and the state of mind he is in. In both the poems, the characters are the same. There is a speaker and a ghost- whom the speaker is talking to, and about. In, The Voice, the speaker is still in love with the ghost, and he goes to the places where he used to with his love. When he is at the place, he forgets about reality and visualises a scene with his loved one. He is being led on throughout the poem until he comes to a dead end. “Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me.” The speaker comes out of the dream, and breaks it by talking a... ... middle of paper ... ... anyone viciously or violently or for revenge. They have come back for reassurance, unfinished business and to sort out any problems. Ghosts who do not like the sight of anything are normally the ones who come to haunt, but in this case it is a ghost who has passionate feelings for a person, who has come to haunt their minds. At all time through the poems it has been the minds of the speakers controlling the actions taken forward against the ghost. The speakers in both poems have had their minds controlling their thoughts and actions taken towards the ghosts. At all times, there have been visible scenes of the ghost in places where it use to go when it was alive, developing in the minds of the speakers in both poems “I see what you are doing; you are leading me on the spots we knew, when we haunted here together”.

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