NO BUYERS
The poem ‘No Buyers’ has been written by Thomas Hardy.
The poem is about a couple and their pony, who are trying to sell their goods in the street.
The poet uses various poetic devices to make a clear picture in the readers mind about the situation, condition and purpose of the couple and their pony in a street ;such as kinaesthetic imagery ’shambling sway’, visual imagery ‘labour along the street in the rain’, alliteration ’woman walks’ etc.
The poet suggests that the couple is poor through the phrase ‘disjointed wagon’ as the couple could might have had replaced the wagon if they were able afford another. Also the fact that the couple and their pony are working even though it is raining highlights the importance of money at the moment to the couple ‘The rain clams her apron……with their merchandize’ (the phrase is an example of visual imagery in the poem) and the fact that nobody buys their products makes it worse for the poor couple.
The poet describes the man to be in chaos state of mind or in disorder (mental) as he describes the man to be moving in a ‘shambling’ manner which is kinaesthetic imagery. The poet also states that the man was walking or moving in an extremely slow pace ’At a slower tread than funeral train,’ which could be because of the man being old or unhappy. The poet also suggest that the man expresses through humming or chanting his unhappiness or problems as a poem in a manner which is even worse than a person lamenting on death ‘while dirge –like tune he chants his wares’. The extracted phase above is an example of sound imagery. Hardy has also used kinaesthetic imagery to show the man’s body language or actions such as shaking his head or swaying his head in the rhythm to his chants which suggest...
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...’. The poet also suggests that the woman joins the man in the poem or chant and together they are expressing their sadness and problems ’and now she joins in his dirge’; the poet also mentions that that despite the woman also singing or chanting, her mind or thinking is on something else ‘but as if her thoughts were on distant things’. The poet states that the women to be swaying her head like the man in rhythm with the chants but in a more decent manner ‘and carries like a Turk’s-head, but more in nursing white’.
The poet suggest that the couple are extremely hardworking as they are trying to sell their products even in rain and the bad part is that nobody is interested ‘So, step by step they move with their merchandize, and nobody buys’
Hardy has throughout the poem tried to convey the message that the no matter what we should always try to carry on with our work.
There are multiple examples of visual imagery in this poem. An example of a simile is “curled like a possum within the hollow trunk”. The effect this has is the way it creates an image for the reader to see how the man is sleeping. An example of personification is, “yet both belonged to the bush, and now are one”. The result this has is how it creates an emotion for the reader to feel
...es her. The imageries of pink Mustang signifies her social class, while “Road” indicates her location as nowhere within a community. The commodification of her body means it can be touched in ways derogatory to her dignity whether she likes it or not because it is a saleable commodity that doesn’t belong to her. Her silver painted nipples identifies silver coins. Silver coins represent monetary value put on her body. Silver painted nipples also mean the attractive way in which a product is packaged. The poem also depicts the defiance of women against how she has been treated. She identifies man as the one that kisses away himself piece by piece till the last coin is spent. However, she cannot change the reality of her location, and temporal placement.
The informal language and intimacy of the poem are two techniques the poet uses to convey his message to his audience. He speaks openly and simply, as if he is talking to a close friend. The language is full of slang, two-word sentences, and rambling thoughts; all of which are aspects of conversations between two people who know each other well. The fact that none of the lines ryhme adds to the idea of an ordinary conversation, because most people do not speak in verse. The tone of the poem is rambling and gives the impression that the speaker is thinking and jumping from one thought to the next very quickly. His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him.
The poet shows that this simple, pleasant memory and how it re-in-acts his childhood. The way in which the windmills squeaks and groans to bring water from the ground whereas during the period of rain they work in harmony, as the rain comes down. The poem is gentle and nostalgic. It seeks not only to recreate the scene for the reader, but to have the reader feel the day to day struggle of living in the hash Australian outback, the struggle of agriculture during a drought.
The narrator is trapped by their past, and the poem describes it affecting their daily life. They have a black cat they are envious of, because the cat is carefree and does not make the same mistakes that the narrator does. “He refuses to be snared by a single love the way I did” (319). The narrator had gotten trapped by a love that went badly, and left them being broken from it. Their cat does not make this mistake, and is also carefree, “He leaps from the rooftop . . . doesn't dread crossing bridges or dark alleyways” (318). He just lives his life out and is not concerned about any sort of danger, and because of this the narrator is envious of the cat. They cannot act the same way as the cat does, they are too concerned about their life and what happens with it, “He doesn't cling to life as I do” (318). The narrator seems to be trapped by their past, and because of this, it affects the way they live now. They have shut themselves off purposefully, they let their past affect them this much, they corrupted themselves. They know this, and they wish they had not let it happen, this is why they envy their
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The air has a distinct sweetness as even the natural world seems to lead the couple down the road with ‘the honey breathing heather’ that lay to their left and right making it appear as though the air is thick with sweetness. While the repetition of the ‘h’ sound gives the poem an airy quality and reminds the reader of the alliteration of ‘west wind’, again drawing attention to the way the natural world appears to be encouraging the couple. ‘Her swift feet seem to float’, the soft alliteration of the ‘f ‘adds to the feeling of ease and floating while the repetition of the ‘t ‘sound at the end of each word adds to the quickness of the descent as the words are articulated cleanly and smoothly.
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The Poetry of Thomas Hardy. rlwclarke. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from http://www.rlwclarke.net/Courses/LITS2002/2008-2009/12AHardy'sPoetry.pdf Find Your Creative Muse. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Find Your Creative Muse.
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