The Life of Thomas Hardy
Starlight, in which the poet also soars through the firmament at night. The underlying idea, and the conclusion of Hardy's poem, is far simpler, however, and is the expression of a personal feeling rather than a philosophical concept, as is the case with Meredith. The sad effects of the separation of kindred spirits on earth are diminished by the poet's enlarged vision after having penetrated in spirit "to the last chambers of the monstrous Dome." This attempted largeness of world-view marks the first step towards the all-embracing vision that conceived the Overworld-scenes of The Dynasts. Although he quickly returns to earth, the poet has taken his first journey into the unknown heights and depths of the universe. The sonnet is technically perfect, and contains many phrases both striking and felicitous. The expression, "ghast heights of sky," shows a handling of the adjective which is Shakespearean in its freedom, but the effect achieved fully justifies the liberty taken with the standard language.
At a Bridal, sub-titled Nature's Indifference, and also cast in sonnet-form, is a lover's lament for the marriage of his mistress "at the Mode's decree," a common situation in the Hardy poems. The drama, or story, although it is the "occasion" for the poem, gives way at the end to philosophical meditation on the indifference of "the Great Dame whence incarnation flows" to such a situation. Similar to this in tone are the four stanzas forming the little piece called Postponement. Here, however, the situation is all-important, and no abstract reflection takes place. The obvious symbolism of a bird's threnody on the fickleness of its mate is employed, and the effect is
[126]
