Transformations

[John]

Portion of this yew
Is a man my grandsire knew,
Bosomed here at its foot:
This branch may be his wife,
A ruddy human life
Now turned to a green shoot.

These grasses must be made
Of her who often prayed,
Last century, for repose;
And the fair girl long ago
Whom I often tried to know
May be entering this rose.

So, they are not underground,
But as nerves and veins abound
In the growths of upper air,
And they feel the sun and rain,
And the energy again
That made them what they were!

[John]

This poem comes from Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, which was published during World War 1. Many of Hardy’s best poems came from this book, in my opinion.

This poem is what I would call a non religious approach to immortality. The soul lives on, but not in human-like form. We move on to something else. I guess I could hope to be a nice tree in deep woods in my after life.

[Connie]

"And the fair girl long ago
Whom I often tried to know
May be entering this rose."

I especially liked the idea that children, who were not able to blossom in life when their lives were cut short, could blossom as a beautiful flower.

[Connie]

Hardy used a similar image in "Drummer Hodge" which we read about a year ago. The young British soldier was transformed into a Southern tree under the stars of the Southern hemisphere.

[John]

There seems to be a soul here, though I would say Hardy is discounting a Higher Authority. I think of relationships to nature that go beyond merely what is there.

[Connie]

John wrote: "There seems to be a soul here, though I would say Hardy is discounting a Higher Authority. I think of relationships to nature that go beyond merely what is there."

The last stanza especially gives the impression of a soul or energy or a life force being reincarnated. I would imagine that Hardy was exposed to Eastern religions considering that England was so involved in India.

[Bionic Jean, Moderator]

For some reason, this seems to follow on from "Prospect" for me. As if we look at the vista from afar, and then zoom in closely to experience each tree separately.

It feels pagan, this animism but yes can be viewed as the simple literal truth whereby the atoms making us become other living things. Any religion could encompass this, and I imagine Thomas Hardy would feel this very strongly.

I like your idea Connie, plus the mention of "roses" is precise I think, rather than just representing a flower. The Victorians used roses to symbolise many different things, according to whether they carved a bud, or a stem, twining roses, petals or a thorn on tombstones. The colour was important in paintings, so I think it's only a small move for Thomas Hardy to see a fair girl as not only represented by, but becoming the true essence of the rose.

I really like this one; thanks John. Now linked.

[John]

I am being rather picky, but I would have preferred this poem to end with just a period rather than an exclamation point. Just a preference, I guess. Sometimes I find that exclamation points distract me from the seriousness of a poem. When I read this one, I don’t see humor or giddiness or glee — so, I prefer no exclamation.

[Bionic Jean, Moderator]

I can understand that John, especially since the advent of the internet and text-speech where exclamation marks are almost mandatory - for instance here! They are just used nowadays to draw attention to a sentence, I think.

Fullstops on the other hand, seem to be used to express more routine sentences.

Why do you think Thomas Hardy didn't just use a fullstop? Do you think it might have been to express his surprise at a new thought? I'm a bit baffled too, but think it is typical Victorian use.

[Donald]

This is a tremendous poem. As a lover of cemeteries, I have found Hardy to be at his best when writing about them. If about reincarnation, it is a more reasonable kind. What he is saying can’t really be debunked. Hardy was certainly aware of eastern mysticism.
I’ve enjoyed the other comments about this poem!!!

[Bionic Jean, Moderator]

Noting the exclamation marks, Donald! 😁

[John]

I have noticed Hardy in other poems using exclamation marks, but they usually center around gaiety. I don’t see that in this poem, so he seems to be using it as a reinforcement — or maybe it is an expression of his own surprise?

I think for me this is a rather serious poem. So I just found that the exclamation mark did not work for me. I don’t know — I half wonder sometimes about being too picky.