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Compare two of the Hardy poems paying particular attention to the language, form and structure

Both The Workbox and Plena Timoris are very ambiguous poems that use their language, form and structure to make their points. Both poems are about love in some form, but they portray it very differently. While Plena Timoris tells of a woman who killed herself for love, The Workbox tells of a man who is constantly telling his wife that ‘misused love’ can have terrible consequences.   

The Workbox’s hidden meaning does not become clear instantly nor when it does, does it significantly. Thomas Hardy tells of a man who is a coffin maker and makes a sewing box for his ‘little wife’ using some leftovers from a coffin made for a man called John Wayward. The moment the name Wayward is mentioned you can tell that the poem will have numerous messages built into it as it implies being off the straight and narrow. As the poem focuses around death, when the wife received the box, it was quite ironic as she said that it,

 ‘ ‘Twill last all my sewing years!’ 

Although she may have said this comment sarcastically, she still meant that the sewing box would last until she dies. The husband speaks to his wife in a sympathising but patronising way throughout. This is due to her coming from ‘borough folk’ not from ‘village life’, and that he thinks he is therefore cleverer. This is shown in the ninth stanza when he says,

‘Don’t, dear, despise my intellect.’ 

This could also be shown when the sewing box is given, as it could imply that she is to work. The sewing box therefore has numerous different opinions that can be taken from it ranging from death to a present

The Workbox is very different to other Hardy poems. This is because most of the poem is direct speech. Although this may limit the amount that can be gathered from the characters, sarcasm, irony and many complexities can be clearly shown. This also adds to the amount of ambiguity that can be gathered from the poem as when possible sarcasm is mentioned, it leaves many unanswered questions open. For example when the man said,

'Ah no.   I should have understood!’                       

Within that small quotation, sarcasm is used to tell his wife that he actually knows everything that occurred, again patronising her. Up to this quotation the man was being very economical with the truth as he was trying to find out whether there was a connection between his wife and John Wayward. He uses very crafty questions to find this out. When the previous quotation was spoken it was clear to the man that there was a connection, however small. In this final stanza the connection is shown. 

‘As if she had known not only John

But known of what he died,’ 

At first look Plena Timoris shows romance with lovers under the moon, although this is not thoroughly clear until the poem has been ‘digested’.  They look like a perfect couple as they ‘laughed and leant’ and ‘her teeth, too, shone’. However this stanza seems too perfect as when it is analysed closely you can see that there is a lot of ambiguity within. For example on the second line the word ‘moon’ is equivocal, as it could illustrate romance or chastity. If it illustrates chastity the first stanza does not create a romantic image, instead it is off putting, disturbing and odd. Already there are therefore similarities between Plena Timoris and The Workbox, as they both use language that on the face of it is very innocent but underneath is very sinister with complexities.   

While the ‘lovers looked over the parapet stone’, his arm was around her. The arm plays a very important role in the poem as two men came up to the couple and told them that,

‘There’s a woman in the canal below,’ 

These men, leave yet again more unanswered questions, as there is no explanation for where they have come from. A splashing was heard as the men removed the body and ‘an arm upbore’. The woman drowned herself for love of a man who used to meet her at that very spot until he grew ‘tired’. The arm, at first, signifies romance and love and then it signifies death for love, which is meant to be uplifting, but is shown to be not. The arm is mentioned again in the final line of the poem when, 

‘her arm dropt from his as they wandered away’

The woman dieing in the canal is a threat to the couple’s relationship, as when the dead woman was with her man they met at the same spot. This quotation shows how because of the death the woman does not want to get close to her partner any more. She was the one to drop her arm as the man was shown to be responsible and to blame for her death. The final line of the third stanza tells of how love is weak and not everlasting as,

‘So much for love in this mortal sphere!’                   

In the final stanza the second to last word plays a very important role. At first the word ‘wandered’ would not seem very significant, however it was chosen to show how the relationship no longer had a sense of direction. It is therefore a very precise word; as if they walked this aimlessness would not be shown. Hardy therefore uses language very precisely in Plena Timoris and The Workbox to illustrate irony and direction.

In The Workbox there are ten stanzas’, each with four lines. Each stanza includes alternating rhyme (in the form ABAB), comprising of tetrameters (A) and trimeters (B). The poem is mainly direct speech, that flows very quickly. On the other hand, in Plena Timoris, the poem is mainly slow moving narrative with a rhyme pattern of ABBAB. Even the two A’s are not perfect, as in the first stanza they are only half rhyme’s. The poem therefore has certain words and lines that don’t ‘fit’. Hardy used this imperfection to show that the first stanza, in particular, is not what it seems. 

Plena Timoris, has a number of caesurae in it to emphasise certain words. For example when,

‘The girl’s heart shuddered; it seemed as to freeze her’ 

This caesura is used with onomatopoeia, as the word shuddered can also mean stopped, which is what Hardy made the sentence do. That is a prime example of how Hardy used form, structure and language together. However, The Workbox has very no major caesurae in it, as it is meant to be read quite rapidly. The caesurae slow the poem down, which is why Plena Timoris, in my view is easier to understand as unlike The Workbox everything is not taken at face value.