My first impression of this poem when I look at it is that it tends to drawl on. Usually Hardy poems are short and to the point but this one seems to be an exception. As I begin to read the poem it becomes apparent that a strong message is trying to be put into the readers mind. That good prevails in the end. The first few stanzas portray a struggle between many different forces of nature and humanity. Love and hate, good and evil, truth and deception to name but a few. The amount of feeling Hardy manages to create in this poem is astonishing.
He has I believe had experiences at this place called 'Wynards Gap', perhaps a sorrow or gain has swung his way at this fair place. Whether he uses his actual experience in the poem is
...questionable but he certainly seems to know exactly the feel and landscape surrounding the area. He may have created an imaginative scenario but this is still very speculative. I believe though with past experiences of Hardy poems that the events in the poem are true to his life. If so this shows a real adventuring man with all the tales he has told.
All the places he mentions in this poem not just 'Wynards Gap' but all the other areas noted seem to have a special place in his heart. Generalising for a while I think that all things mentioned in Hardy poems have a place in his heart. Whether happy or sad they still form an important part of the spirit of Thomas Hardy. The death in this poem is greeted with fairly little emotion
from Hardy. This could be because he does not feel much towards the victim or perhaps he does not wish to dwell upon it in this poem itself. He may want to just get over the death and try to move on, this seems a stumbling block for his emotions to deal with.
Indeed this could only be true if the events spoken of are real. He speaks of: 'As I lay weak' This shows he has little compassion for the victim but wants us to sympathize with his situation. How he was left alone, how he was dealt a blow. This is a clear extent of Hardy sometimes-apparent selfishness and stubbornness. Its all about himself, not perhaps how other close friends or family of the victim would be feeling upon hearing the news of the death. Hardy may feel these are not relevant towards the angle that he wants to exploit. About the death and how its effects change him and his ways and only him and his ways.
A few of my impressions are quite deep and hopefully perceptive possibly a little radical as well. I found this poem hard to read at sometimes as I felt the rhythm was sometimes interrupted and not always left to flow as I tend to prefer. This would have been done purposely by Hardy for the reason I believe to be the disdainful death of someone close. I have however to write what I feel, and what the poem says to me so I have. The rhythm, choice of words and basic topic and outline present an obvious sad and mellow tone. The long structure seems to reveal
a sense of droning and possibly boredom over the way Hardys life was with this person.
He may regret this and want another try at the relationship this is of course now impossible. I would however like to think that Hardy regrets the way his life entangled with the individual written of. This is left somewhat short in the end and Hardys true feelings are not evident in the finale of this poem. This may be left for the reader to in a sense read into or just that Hardy himself does not want to share. I find this hard to believe as Hardys openness is always there in his poems. His honesty and truth usually shine through.
