Tess of the d'Urbervilles: Style 1 key example

Though this novel fits solidly within the genre of realist fiction, Hardy's style is far from simplistic. Using rather inflated prose at times, Tess of the D'Urberville's narrator frequently breaks off from the main plot to raise philosophical quandaries, at times addressing the reader directly. This method of frequent, metaphor-laden abstraction distinguishes Hardy's writing, which at times verges on the poetic.

The Romantic poets, in particular, leave their mark on Hardy's writing. He emphasizes the natural world and its ability to mirror human emotions, as in the following passage from Chapter 12:

There was not a human soul near. Sad October and her sadder self seemed the only two existences haunting that lane.

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