1. Thomas Hardy NOTES PROVIDED BY M.SUMNER
‘A Wife in London’
Thomas Hardy
NOTES PROVIDED BY M.SUMNER

2. A Wife in London
Boer War (South Africa)
Late 19th Century

3. Foggy weather creates feeling of gloom, loneliness, isolation
The fog surrounds the house and cuts her off from the rest of the city.
I--The Tragedy She sits in the tawny vapour    That the City lanes have uprolled,    Behind whose webby fold on fold Like a waning taper    The street-lamp glimmers cold.
Dying candle. Simile
Sad, sombre atmosphere
First stanza creates suitable atmosphere

4. Second stanza brings sudden change of pace.
Poet uses onomatopoeia to imitate sound of the knock
A messenger's knock cracks smartly,    Flashed news is in her hand    Of meaning it dazes to understand Though shaped so shortly:    He--has fallen--in the far South Land . . .
Boer War in South Africa.
Telegram arrives. Sudden – no warning – just a few words.

5. Symbolic of her feelings. Like her mood, she is sadder and more alone.
Next day
II--The Irony 'Tis the morrow; the fog hangs thicker,    The postman nears and goes:    A letter is brought whose lines disclose By the firelight flicker    His hand, whom the worm now knows:
Alliteration – soft effect
Gruesome detail – hand which wrote letter is now being eaten away by worms.
Cruel, ironic twist of fate – a letter from her now dead husband.

6. Bright, cheerful – he’s looking forward to picnics in the countryside
Bright, cheerful – he’s looking forward to picnics in the countryside. Now it will never happen
Fresh--firm--penned in highest feather -    Page-full of his hoped return,    And of home-planned jaunts by brake and burn In the summer weather,    And of new love that they would learn.
woods
Trips to the country. But for her, it will always be winter.
stream
Letter makes it more poignant and painful.

7. Questions
What is the mood or feeling or atmosphere in the first stanza? How is this suitable? (gloomy, grey, foggy, cold – loneliness, isolation, cut off from rest of city)
How does the mood in the second stanza suddenly become more dramatic? How is onomatopoeia used?
How is line 11 symbolic?
What is the cruel or ironic twist in the second part of the poem?
What is in the husband’s letter?
What is the effect of the letter? (sadness, pathos, contrast)
What gruesome reminder does Hardy include?
Compare the way that Hardy uses rhythm, rhyme and sound effects such as alliteration in this poem.